Consumers still confident in housing recovery- Inman

Consumers still confident in housing recovery

Fannie Mae survey shows uptick in concern over economy

By Inman News, Monday, April 8, 2013.

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Housing rebound image via Shutterstock.

Nearly twice as many people think now is a good time to sell compared to a year ago, Fannie Mae reported today.
A record 26 percent of respondents to Fannie Mae's March 2013 National Housing Survey said now is a good time to sell, up from 25 percent last month and 14 percent from a year earlier, Fannie Mae said.
The share of respondents who believe home prices will rise next year also was at a record high, holding steady at the 48 percent recorded in February's version of the survey, Fannie Mae reported.
Fannie Mae's 2013 National Housing Survey was first administered in June 2010 during the depths of the housing crisis, accounting for why results that may reflect limited confidence in the housing market also may be the most positive on record.
"Despite an uptick in concern expressed about the direction of the economy, it appears consumers believe that the housing recovery will march on," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "Housing sentiment remains unshaken from the highs of the last few months. At the same time, perhaps driven by the experience of the past several years, consumers remain cautious in their housing outlook."
Indeed, relative pessimism over the larger economy may be keeping consumers' hopes for the housing market in check. The survey findings below seem to suggest that sentiment towards the economy continues to lag, and that it worsened modestly from last month:

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• At 35 percent, the share of respondents who say the economy is on the right track decreased 3 percentage points from February.
• The percentage of respondents who expect their personal financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months rose by 4 percentage points to 21 percent.
• Twenty percent of respondents say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago, a slight decrease from last month.
• Thirty-two percent reported significantly higher household expenses compared to 12 months ago, a slight increase over February.

The survey was conducted before the release of last week's jobs reported, which fell far short of expectations. Despite showing disappointing numbers on nearly all fronts, the report's results also continued to reflect improvement in the construction sector.

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