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July 8, 2014 – Fannie Mae's June 2014 National Housing Survey found that consumer confidence in the housing market has gone up during the recovery, but not enough to achieve "normal" housing levels.

"Since we began collecting monthly National Housing Survey data in June 2010, we've seen substantial progress in consumer home price expectations and other key attitudinal measures as the housing recovery gained its footing," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, in a statement. "Still, we do not expect to see ‘normal' levels of new residential construction, in the region of 1.6 million new housing units per year, before the end of 2016, our original projection. Such a feat would require a pace of growth in housing starts not seen in decades."

Survey highlights include:

• The percentage of respondents who expected their financial situation to improve within the next 12 months increased to 43 percent from 42 percent in May.
• Seventy percent of respondents believe it is a good time to buy a house (compared to 68 percent in May), and 40 percent believe it is a good time to sell a house compared to May's 43 percent.
• Fifty-two percent of respondents thought it would be easy for them to get a home mortgage today – matching the all-time high.

Duncan will speak at a session on national and global economic trends titled "Private Forces Move to the Fore" at NAFCU's Annual Conference and Solutions Expo, slated July 22-26 in Las Vegas.