The June reading for Fannie Mae’s (OTCQB: FNMA) Home Purchase Sentiment Index saw a scant 0.4-point uptick to 66.0, with the full index up by only 1.2 points from one year ago.
However, there is a slight level of optimism among consumers – at least compared to one month earlier. Within the index, the majority of Americans polled by Fannie Mae believed now is a bad time to buy a home (78%, down from 80% last month), and the majority also felt home prices will go up in the next 12 months (36%, down from last month’s 39%) and mortgage rates will also climb (47%, down from 50%).
“Confidence in the housing market appears to have plateaued at a relatively low level, suggesting that many consumers may be coming to terms with elevated mortgage rates and high home prices,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, who theorized that Americans have accepted “the idea that higher mortgage rates will likely stick around for the foreseeable future. We continue to forecast home sales to slow in the second half of the year, compared to the first half, due to ongoing affordability constraints and lack of housing supply.”
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