During August, the percentage of Americans who said now was a good time to sell a home and that mortgage rates will continue to decline both increased, according to the latest Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI).
The HPSI increased 1.2 points in August to 88, slightly below the all-time high set in June.
“In the early stages of the economic expansion, home selling sentiment trailed home buying sentiment by a significant margin. The reverse is true today,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in a release.
“The net good time to sell share is now double the net good time to buy share, with record high percentages of consumers citing home prices as the primary reason for both perceptions,” Duncan added. “Such a sizable gap between selling and buying sentiment, if it persists, could weigh on the housing market through the rest of the year.”
The HPSI found that the net share of respondents who said now is a good time to sell a home rose 8 percent in August and is up 21 percent compared with a year ago. The net share who said now is a good time to buy fell 5 percent and is down 16 percent year-over-year.
Respondents who felt mortgage rates will go down increased 4 percent, while the net share of Americans who believe home prices will go up increased 1 .
Americans who said they are not concerned about losing their job fell 1 percent. Those who said their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago remained unchanged.