Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Just recently, the housing market has been quite volatile from month to month which has slowed down the continued recovery. In spite of this the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows consumers still have a positive view on real estate which may lead to an increase in selling and buying this spring.
Apparently some 38% of those surveyed thought it would be a good time to sell a home, compared to just 26% at the same time last year. In addition, more than half of those surveyed thought it would be easy to get a mortgage compared to just 47% a year earlier. Americans are also feeling more positive about their personal finances, and the numbers who expect things to worsen over the next 12 months fell to just 12% compared to 21% this time last year. Those who feel their personal financial situation has improved during the past 12 months reached a high of 40%.
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The article in RISMedia goes on to point out that the housing recovery is continuing to proceed, but is impeded by a lack of inventory and increasing mortgage rates. In spite of this the signs are pretty positive as we enter into the spring home buying season, especially compared with last year. More people are optimistic about selling their home and their ability to get a mortgage, and fewer people are pessimistic about personal finances. However those who are pessimistic about the current conditions are more likely to feel the economy isn't on the right track. Experts expect to see the economy to continue to grow this year, hopefully boosting the confidence of sellers and buyers.
The survey also found the number of respondents who feel home prices will go up during the next year fell slightly to 48%, but the percentage of those who expect home prices will go down fell to just 5% which is an all-time low for this survey. Some 54% expect mortgage rates to go up during the next year, while just 3% believe rates will go down. More people think now is a good time to buy, with the percentage increasing to 69%, while the percentage of those who think it's a good time to sell increased to 38%, up 4% on the previous month.
The numbers of those who expect home rental prices to go up during the next 12 months increased to 52%, slightly up from the previous month. The same percentage thought it would be easier to get a home mortgage today, equaling the all-time high for this survey which was reached in January.
