In case you (somehow?) haven’t heard – the housing market is doing well. Apparently most of us have heard, and enough people are feeling good about real estate’s near term outlook that the national Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) has hit a new all time high.
Like many other economic indexes, the HPSI takes survey information about both homeowners’ and renters’ feelings on home purchases and expectations about the housing market over the next 12 months, and converts it into a number that can be compared over time to track how we’re all feeling about real estate. Long story short – unless you’re really into economic indicators and indexes, what really matters is that consumer sentiment for home buying hitting record highs is great news for the market, and should continue to drive the price gains we’re seeing.
There was a particularly strong increase in people who feel now is a good time to sell a home, as well as those who feel that home prices will go up over the next 12 months. (Not much of a surprise there.) These sentiments are combined with a low expectation of mortgage rate decline in the next year, and a strong expectation of rents increasing. Couple these factors with an increase in the number of Americans expressing higher job security, and together, all the data leads to people feeling like it is a good time to be, or become, a homeowner!
The only downside to this information, if there is one, is that despite the upward trend in “good time to sell” sentiment, the market has yet to see enough results of that in terms of release of inventory for sale. We definitely need to see the home builders continue to build to catch up with demand, but it would be good to see more existing homes hit the market as well, as homeowners decide to list.
How do you feel about the near future of the housing market? Looking for our expert advice on taking advantage of the current conditions? Contact us today for all your real estate needs!