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National Housing Survey/Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI)

November 2014 Monthly National Housing Survey

November 1, 2014
National Housing Survey Results Mirror Uneven 2014 Activity, Support Forecast for Gradual Recovery in 2015

Results from Fannie Mae's November 2014 National Housing Survey show that Americans' attitudes toward housing have tracked closely with the uneven 2014 housing market trend, which is improving but lagging behind the overall economy trend. According to the survey results, consumers' personal financial outlook has increased fairly steadily during the year, lending support to the ongoing housing market recovery. The share of respondents who expect mortgage rates to go up in the next 12 months decreased again to 45 percent, in line with a gradual but uneven decline since the beginning of the year. On the other hand, the share who believe it is a good time to buy and sell a home moved further apart. Sixty-eight percent of consumers now say it is a good time buy, an increase of 3 percentage points, compared to 39 percent who say it is a good time to sell, a 5 percentage point drop.

Monthly Housing Survey

"November's National Housing Survey results support the 2014 trend of gradual, but often sporadic and unspectacular, improvement across a range of indicators measuring consumer attitudes toward housing – mirroring the uneven recovery in housing activity this year," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "More encouraging is the steady upward trend this year in consumers' assessment of their personal finances, with 46 percent of Americans – near the survey's high – expecting their personal financial situation to improve over the next 12 months. We expect consumer attitudes toward housing to improve as the pickup in the overall economy lifts employment and income prospects. However, a sustained improvement in sentiment that could support a robust housing recovery, as policy support is removed, will require meaningful gains in household income. While such gains have so far been elusive, the strength in the November jobs report, which points to faster growth in labor income in the current quarter, marks a good start."

Fannie Mae's monthly national consumer attitudinal survey report provides indicators offering a window into the opinions of Americans across the country. These behavioral insights convey what consumers think about the outlook for owning and renting a home and about their household finances, and may serve as key inputs for determining the future course of investment across housing types.

On this webpage you will find a news release with highlights from the survey results, the November Data Release highlighting 12 consumer attitudinal indicators, a video summary containing highlights from this month’s survey, and month-over-month key indicator data.

Downloads and Related Links
News Release
November 2014 National Housing Survey Data Release (PDF)
Video Summary – November National Housing Survey
Monthly Key Indicator Data (.xls)