Lingering high home prices and rapidly increasing interest rates have left a majority of Americans feeling negative about the U.S. housing market.
In Fannie Mae’s monthly survey in October, only 16 percent of consumers stated they thought it was a good time to buy a home. That is the lowest share since the survey began in 2011. The share of respondents who thought now is a good time to sell a home also dropped from 59 percent to 51 percent last month.
Over one-third of consumers (37 percent) said they anticipated home prices decreasing in the next 12 months. This is up only slightly from 35 percent in September.
High home prices have seemed to linger, even though interest rates saw substantial hikes over the summer, quickly jumping from 3 percent at the start of 2022, and approaching 8 percent in late September.
“As continued affordability constraints reduce homebuyer demand, and homeowners become reluctant to sell at potentially reduced prices, we expect home sales to slow even further in the coming months, consistent with our forecast,” wrote Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, in a release.