Fannie Mae’s [1] reported that a recent housing metric is at an all-time high and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon . . .
As summer heats up, so is the housing market. According to the most recent Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), more and more Americans feel it is a good time to buy. June’s index saw a 2.1 jump from May, ending up at 88.3 percent—which equaled the all-time high seen in February.
According to Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist, Doug Duncan, the HPSI also reflects a growing sellers’ market. Month-over-month the net percentage of respondents who indicated it’s a good time to sell rose to 39 percent, a new high and 7 percent increase from May.
However, there are still some clouds on the horizon. “While consumer optimism on this metric is as high as we've seen in the survey's seven-year history, it's worth noting that this record is relative to the fairly tight standards in place post-crisis when we started collecting National Housing Survey data. Nevertheless, in the face of very tight housing supply, easing credit standards may fail to have the desired effect and could have the unintended consequence of fueling further house price increases," noted Duncan.
Though Americans seem to feel optimistically about the housing market, they aren’t as confident in other sectors, according to Fannie Mae. The net share of respondents who reported that they weren’t concerned about losing their jobs dropped by 5 percent to 66 percent, while those who reported that their household income is higher than a year ago fell 1 percent to land at 17 percent.
To see the full range of housing stats Fannie Mae reported, click here.