Consumer housing confidence improved slightly in July, with Americans feeling more confident about the economy even as many worry about whether they can buy a house themselves.
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose in July to 71.8, two points higher than June. That's close to where it was a year ago and right in the middle of its 12-month range, which has oscillated between a high of 75 last November and a low of 68.1 in March.
More consumers are predicting that both home prices and mortgage rates will go up in the next year. But on a more optimistic note, respondents felt more positive about their own finances, with fewer reporting fears about losing their job in the next year.
Nonetheless, there's pessimism
Sellers, the survey found, are still broadly optimistic, with the percentage who described now as a good time to sell remaining steady from June. That number has steadily declined over the past year, though. In July 2024, the net difference between respondents who said it was a good time and a bad time to sell was 31%; last month, the difference had shrunk to 21%.
This tracks with the shifting dynamics across the country. Many markets have seen
Should buyers be more optimistic?
Despite buyers' gloomy outlook, there may be reason for them to be hopeful. Data from Redfin found that for the four weeks ending August 3, the median home asking price moved up 2.3% year-over-year, the slowest increase in two years.
Meanwhile, mortgage interest rates have mostly inched down over the past six months,
"Serious homebuyers should consider taking this window of opportunity to act fast and lock in a mortgage rate at the lowest level we've seen since last October," said Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research, in a statement.
