It’s no secret we are living in uncertain times, from all over the world we are coming together to slow the spread of a deadly virus. In the midst of this, many worries over the state of the economy not just in America but on a global scale. Of course, this will have an impact on the housing market, however, it is not as bad as one may assume. Statistics have shown that there is still strong confidence in the U.S. housing market- a slight dip but still remaining near an all-time high. According to the Fannie Mae Home Purchasing Sentiment Index (HPSI) on March 9th, 2020, the dip was only slight at .5% from 93.8 to 92.5. In the home price expectations sector there was a 2% decrease in the belief that housing prices will go up in the next 12 months. As for mortgage rate expectation a 4% decrease that mortgage rates will go down. No changes in opinion as a good/bad time to sell but a 2% decrease in belief that it is a good time to buy. The largest change for any sector was an increase in household income by 5%, who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago and no change in concerns for Americans losing their job. These numbers only reflect the current attitude, though with the volatility of the market things are changing rapidly and will continue to evolve over the next few months.
This information comes from the Fannie Mae Home Purchasing Sentiment Index who conducts an in-depth live telephone poll of 1,000 Americans. The poll is composed of 100 questions to gage the opinion on the state of the economy, owning or renting a home, price changes, household finances, and overall consumer confidence.
