Newsroom

August 08, 2016

Fannie home purchase sentiment index hits new high

Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index reached a new high of 86.5 percent in July, which NAFCU Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long says shows how housing demand continues to expand.

"The housing market has been expanding despite strong price growth," Long said. "The rate of household formation has increased recently, as has the share of first-time homebuyers. While inventory constraints will continue to be an issue, housing demand should remain strong enough to generate further sales growth for the remainder of the year."

Fannie said each of its survey components increased in July. The number of consumers who expect home prices to go up in the next year rose 8 percentages points, while the number who expect mortgage interest rates to go down in the next year rose by 5 points. The share of consumers who say they would buy a home if they moved increased to 67 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of consumers who say they would rent if they moved hit an all-time survey low of 26 percent.