Perhaps it is the large increases across the country in home values or maybe it is the fact that bidding wars driving prices upwards of 10 percent to 12 percent above asking price has become the norm for many metro areas in the U.S. Whatever it may be, more Americans than ever before believe it is a good time to sell a home, HousingWire reports.
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index increased by 1.6 points to an all-time high of 85.3 in results that were released on Monday, June 6. This marks quite a large turnaround from numbers that were recently sitting at an 18-month low.
Part of this large turnaround may be attributed to the change in the share of people who believe home prices will increase over the next 12 months, as it increased from 37 percent to 42 percent.
However, it is also a fact that fewer consumers feel now is a good time to buy a home. Unless a current homeowner is planning on renting or already has another home to live in, this means fewer homeowners may list their current homes despite it being viewed as such a good time to sell because of contradictory feelings about buying.
Helping to make buying a little more palatable is the fact that mortgage rates remain near historic lows and less than half of consumers expect them to increase over the next year. Additionally, 18 percent (up from 7 percent) of consumers reported that their income was significantly higher than it was 12 months ago. A larger income may be the push many people need to enter into and feel more comfortable with purchasing a home.
