Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index Dipped in December

This story was originally published in Builder.

Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased 2.0 points in December to 85.8, reversing the rise of a month earlier.

The decrease can be attributed to decreases in four of the six HPSI components. The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to buy a home decreased 5 percentage points compared to November and is down 8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the net share who reported that now is a good time to sell a home remained flat and is up 21 percentage points year-over-year.

The net share who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months decreased 2 percentage points in December, while Americans also expressed a weakened sense of job security, with the net share who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreasing 6 percentage points. The net share of consumers who said mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months fell 1 percentage point in December, while the net share reporting that their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 2 percentage points.

“Consumers remained cautious in their housing outlook at the end of 2017, as tax reform discussions continued. In December, mirroring the other major consumer sentiment benchmarks, the HPSI reflected this caution and declined slightly,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Entering 2018, housing affordability remains a persistent challenge, particularly in rental markets, where consumer expectations for price increases over the next 12 months reached a new survey high.”

HOME PURCHASE SENTIMENT INDEX – COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS:

Fannie Mae’s 2017 Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased in December by 2.0 points to 85.8. The HPSI is up 5.1 points compared with the same time last year.