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Americans are increasingly hopeful that the economy is on the right track and that mortgage rates are lower than they were a year ago, but December is still a good time to buy a home, according to the mortgage giant’s monthly survey. Only one in five people thought that Fannie Mae.
Just 22% of homeowners and renters who participated in Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey said December was a good time to buy, up from 17% a year ago and by 2024. That’s up from an all-time low of 14% recorded in March.
Seller sentiment also declined from November to December, but improved from the previous year. In December, 63% of those surveyed said it was a good time to sell, down from 64% in November and 67% in April, the peak of 2024.
As the other three components of Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) declined from November to December, the index fell 1.9 points to 73.1, but was still up 5.9 points from a year earlier. .
mark parim
“Despite the HPSI decline toward the end of the year, consumer sentiment for the housing market ended 2024 well above the previous year’s level, due to lower mortgage rates,” said Mark Parim, Fannie Mae’s chief economist. “This is partly due to respondents’ continued expectation that the statement.
Palim said Fannie Mae economists “expect a gradual decline in mortgage rates, slower home price growth, and higher wage growth to improve the relative affordability of home purchases in the new year.” “However, consumers’ experiences are likely to vary depending on where they live.” ” Parim said.
Fannie Mae economists said in their final forecast for 2024 that existing home sales this year will be the highest in 30 years as rising mortgage rates leave many would-be sellers feeling locked into existing loans. We expected it to remain at a low level.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
Homebuyer sentiment reached its 2024 peak in November, with 23% of those surveyed saying it was a good time to buy a home.
Due to a 1 percentage point decrease in those who said December is a good time to buy and a 1 percentage point increase in those who said December is a bad time to buy, the net share of those who said December is a bad time to buy is 3%. Points decreased. The percentage of respondents who said it was a good time to buy was -57%.
As wages continue to rise and inventory is limited, homebuyers are expected to remain in a generally competitive housing market, and homebuyers will still need market knowledge. ” Parim said.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
The percentage of people who said December is a good time to sell decreased by 1 point from November, and the percentage who said it was a bad time to sell increased by 1 point to 36%, making December a good time to sell. The net share of those who answered that it was the right time to do so decreased by 1 point from November. Good times to sell decreased by 2 points to 27 percent.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
In a December poll, most Americans said they expected home prices to continue rising (38%) or stay the same (35%) over the next 12 months. In a December poll, only 27% of Americans thought home prices would fall next year, up from 25% in November.
A LendingTree survey last fall found that due to soaring home prices, nearly four in 10 Americans believe the housing market is at risk of collapsing in 2025, and more than one in three believe it will happen. It turned out that I was looking forward to it.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
A December poll found that more Americans (42%) think mortgage rates will fall over the next year than they expect them to rise (25%), but expect interest rates to ease in 2025. The net share of people decreased by 4 points from November.
At the time the survey was conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 13, mortgage rates had taken a breather from the steady rise seen in September from their 2024 lows.
Mortgage rates have been close to 7% on concerns that the Fed will be more cautious in cutting rates this year, after hitting a 2024 low of 6.03% on Sept. 17 with the Fed expecting three rate cuts. It rose to
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
In a December poll, a majority of Americans (77%) said they were not worried about losing their job in the next 12 months, but the proportion saying they were concerned had increased to 22%. As a result, the net percentage of people who said they were not worried about losing their job decreased by 4 percentage points from November to December to 54%.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
Most households (70%) surveyed in December said their income was about the same as a year ago. Only 11 per cent said their household income had significantly decreased, while the net share of people who said their household income had increased significantly compared to 12 months ago was 6 per cent, an increase of 1 point from November. It became.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) distills six questions from the National Housing Survey into a single number. Household income was the only HPSI component to improve from November to December, with the index falling to its lowest level since September, when it hit 73.9.
“meanwhile [Americans surveyed by Fannie Mae] Still discouraged by pandemic-era increases in home prices and mortgage rates, the upward trend in home purchase sentiment in 2024 reflects slow adaptation to a generally unaffordable market environment “It’s possible,” Palim said.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2024.
Although not factored into the HPSI, the survey also asked household financial decision makers about their views on the economy.
Just 33% of Americans said the economy was on the right track in December, the highest rate this year, up from 25% in May.
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