Quarterly National Housing Survey

Fannie Mae's third quarter National Housing Survey provides in-depth findings on attitudes of consumers who know of people in their area or neighborhood who have defaulted on their mortgage. This latest survey shows that those exposed to default have similar attitudes about buying a home as those who do not know people that have defaulted. However, the survey also finds greater pessimism about the economy and personal finances among consumers who know defaulters.

Knowing someone who has defaulted on their mortgage appears to be correlated with consumers being slightly more pessimistic about the direction of the economy, their finances, and their ability to obtain a mortgage, but does not materially correlate with their desire to own a home or their view of housing as a safe investment," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae.

The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polls homeowners and renters to assess their confidence in homeownership as an investment, the current state of their household finances, views on the U.S. housing finance system, and overall confidence in the economy.

The Housing Survey was designed to gain a better understanding of current attitudes toward housing and any differences since previous surveys. Our research helps inform the collective efforts of Fannie Mae and our partners to provide stability for the housing market.

On this webpage you will find a news release with highlights from the survey results, technical notes providing in-depth information about the survey methodology, the questionnaire used for the survey, and a comparative assessment of the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey and other consumer surveys.

Downloads and Related Links
News Release
Presentation About National Housing Survey (PPT)