Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) dipped during October, falling from the all-time high matched in September.
In October, the HPSI decreased 3.1 points to 85.2. Fannie Mae attributed the decline in home purchasing confidence to the drop in the share of respondents who said October was a good time to buy or sell a home.
The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to sell a home decreased 8 percentage points in October compared to September, but remained up 11 percentage points compared to the same period last year, the HPSI found.
“The modest decrease in October’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index is driven in large part by decreases in favorable views of the current home-buying and home-selling climates, a shift we expect at this time of year moving out of the summer home-buying season,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in a release. “Indicators of broader economic and personal financial sentiment remain relatively steady. Overall, these results are consistent with our view that the housing market will continue its slow, upward grind through 2018.”
The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to buy a home in October fell 6 percentage points, according to Fannie Mae. The HPSI also found that Americans had a decreased sense of job security in October, with the net share who said they are not concerned about losing their job decreasing 5 percentage points.
The net share of consumers who in October reported that their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago fell by 1 percentage point, while the net share of those said mortgage rates will go down increased 1 percentage point.
The net share of respondents who in October predicted home prices will go up in the next 12 months remained flat.