WASHINGTON – April 9, 2014 – Recent month-to-month volatility in the housing market has softened the ongoing recovery, according to the March 2014 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey.
However, most indicators on consumer attitudes continue to move in a positive direction, which may suggest a pickup in home buying and selling activity this spring. According to Fannie Mae's survey, respondents who say it's a good time to sell a home climbed to 38 percent last month, compared to 26 percent at the same time last year.
In addition, the share who believe it would be easy to get a mortgage today increased to 52 percent compared to 47 percent a year ago, tying the all-time survey high.
Americans' attitudes regarding their personal finances also have improved – those who expect their financial situation to worsen during the next 12 months decreased to 12 percent, a significant drop from 21 percent at the same time last year; and the share who say their personal financial situation improved during the past year reached an all-time survey high of 40 percent.
"The housing recovery continues to proceed in fits and starts. Rising mortgage rates and a lack of supply have dampened housing market momentum," says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "However, we see several positive signs going into this year's spring homebuying season compared with last year. For example, consumers are less pessimistic about their personal finances, and more optimistic about the current selling environment and their ability to get a mortgage."
© 2014 Florida Realtors®
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