Sellers believe that this is a good time to sell their homes, and buyer confidence is also rising.
Consumer confidence in the housing market rose in February but still lags the rate in 2021.
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) rose by 3.5 points to 75.3 in February – the index measures intentions, attitudes and perceptions regarding housing using six questions from the National Housing Survey. It is generally considered a good measure of how home buyers and sellers will react to the homebuying process.
In February, both buyer and seller sentiment increased as the job market improved, but that measure was calculated before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to economic uncertainty in the American economy.
There was a 29% increase in the number of survey respondents who indicated they thought now was a good time to buy a home. In January, 678,000 new jobs were added across the U.S., and 27% of respondents said that their household income increased from January to February.
Seller sentiment also improved from January to February, with 72 percent indicating they thought now was a good time to sell – compared to 69 percent in January.
The housing inventory across the U.S. remains near all-time lows as houses sell quickly at new highs. Forty-six percent of survey respondents indicated they expect home prices to continue to rise over the course of the next 12 months.
While housing sentiment saw an upswing in February, the market faces long-term headwinds in the form of declining affordability and low inventory.