Selective Homes Blog

A whopping 70 percent of Americans believe it’s a good time to buy a home, according to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey released today.

That’s up from 64 percent in a similar survey conducted in January, but more respondents (33% vs 30%) said they were more likely to rent their next home if they were to move.

However, a large majority (78%) believe home prices have either bottomed or will rise over the next year, up from 73 percent in January.

Forty-seven percent believe prices will hold steady, while 31 percent think they will rise, a notable change from the January numbers, which were 36 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

The number of renters (37%) and delinquent borrowers (52%) who said they are more likely to buy a home in the future declined by seven and four points from January’s survey, respectively.

“Although most Americans believe that home prices have bottomed, they are adopting a much more cautious approach toward buying,” said Doug Duncan, Vice President and Chief Economist, Fannie Mae, in a release.

“Homeowners and renters alike continue to be wary of taking on risk, and they are less confident in the long-term outlook for housing.”

Some good news: 22 percent of mortgage borrowers said they have reduced their mortgage debt “significantly” over the past year, while 27 percent say they have reduced their non-mortgage debt significantly.

Oh and 83 percent believe now is a bad time to sell a house, so maybe that’ll help keep inventory in check, assuming they don’t walk away.