Consumers still confident in housing recovery, survey finds

Consumer confidence in the housing recovery remains positive despite fiscal policy concerns, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2013 National Housing Survey results. Nearly twice as many people think now is a good time to sell compared to a year ago.

“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, in a statement.

“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,” Duncan said.

Although more Americans indicate greater concern regarding their personal finances and the economy, they continue to demonstrate optimism across key housing market measures. The share of consumers who believe home prices will go up in the next year held firm at 48 percent, an all-time survey high.

The Fannie Mae survey polled 1,004 Americans via live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence.

Additional survey highlights include:

• 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.