The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) rose 5.6 percent in February, reaching an all-time high of 88.3.
Five of the six components the HPSI measures increased in February, as the percentage of Americans who think it’s a good time to buy or sell a home both increased.
Additionally, a higher percentage of Americans reported having higher household incomes than a year ago.
“The latest post-election surge in optimism puts the HPSI at its highest level since its starting point in 2011. Millennials showed especially strong increases in job confidence and income gains, a necessary precursor for increased housing demand from first-time homebuyers,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan, who will be a featured speaker at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in June, said in a press release.
“Preliminary research results from our team find that millennials are accelerating the rate at which they move out of their parents’ homes and form new households,” Duncan said. “However, continued slow supply growth implies continued strong price appreciation and affordability constraints facing millennials and first-time buyers in many markets.”
The HPSI found:
-
The share of Americans who said February was a good time to buy a house rose 11 percent to 40 percent.
-
Those who said February was a good time to sell a house increased 7 percent to 22 percent.
-
Forty-five percent of respondents predicted home prices will increase.
-
The percentage of respondents who said they were not concerned about losing their job (78 percent) increased 9 percent.
-
And 19 percent of Americans (a 4 percent increase) said their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago.