Americans' confidence in listing or purchasing has renewed, with the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) jumping to its highest point since summer.
 
In March, the HPSI increased 5.5 percentage points to 89.8, with homebuyer optimism soaring 7 percentage points, and optimism on the part of sellers surging 13 percentage points.
 
"A brighter housing market outlook drove this month's increase in the HPSI—a welcome sign from consumers as we enter the spring and summer home-buying seasons," says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "The results further corroborate the positive effect of falling mortgage rates on affordability, which we expect will help support a rebound in home sales.
 
"Continuing a five-month trend, the net share of consumers who believe mortgage rates will go down increased 7 percentage points amid a 35 basis-point drop in mortgage rates in March alone," Duncan says. "Meanwhile, job confidence—little changed from last month's survey high—also continues to support housing sentiment, while income growth perceptions firmed from both prior month and year-ago levels, potentially supporting an uptick in housing demand.
 
"Additionally, consumers appear to have regained some confidence in the housing market, with perceptions of both home-buying and home-selling conditions returning to their longer-term trends."
 
Source: Fannie Mae

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