More Americans Optimistic About Housing Recovery.
More than half of Americans — 51 percent — now say they expect home prices to increase within the next year, according to a survey by mortgage giant Fannie Mae of about 1,000 Americans’ attitudes toward housing.
“For the first time in the survey’s three-year history, the majority of Americans surveyed now expect home prices to increase,” says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Crossing the 50 percent threshold marks a significant milestone as most Americans believe a housing recovery is truly occurring throughout the country.”
Last year at this time, only 32 percent said they expected home prices to increase.
More Americans in April also said now is a good time to sell, climbing four percentage points to 30 percent last month compared to 15 percent one year ago.
The number of respondents who expect mortgage rates to rise dropped 3 percentage points to 43 percent in April, while 7 percent said they expect rates to drop fell slightly to 7 percent, according to the survey.
Source: “Survey: Over 50% of Americans Expect Home Prices to Rise,” The Wall Street Journal (May 7, 2013)