REAL ESTATE NEWS...HOME PURCHASE SENTIMENT INDEX RISES IN SEPTEMBER

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased to 83.8 in September as consumer confidence in the homebuying and selling market bounced back from a recent dip, suggesting continued gradual improvement in housing activity. The HPSI Good Time to Sell component increased 13 points on net in September, likely due to a strong home price environment coupled with a slight improvement in consumers’ economic outlook. Additionally, the Good Time to Buy component increased 3 points on net as high rental costs may be encouraging more renters to consider homeownership. Although net home price and mortgage rate expectations dipped in September, consumers' confidence in their employment and financial situations climbed 2 and 3 points, respectively, further suggesting a possible firmer footing for housing.

Highlights from the Index include:

• Fannie Mae’s September 2015 Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased 3 points to 83.8 in September following a two-month drop. Four of the six component questions posted net positive gains, most notably with Good Time to Sell increasing 13 points compared to August. Home Price and Mortgage Rate net expectations continued to fall, dipping 2 and 1 points, respectively. Overall, the HPSI is up 3.6 points since this time last year.
• The share of respondents who said that it is a good time to buy a house rose 1 percentage point to 64 percent, continuing a positive trend since July’s survey low.
• Those who say it is a good time to sell rose 5 percentage points to 52 percent, tying June’s survey high. The percent of respondents who say it is a bad time to sell decreased to 36 percent, setting a new survey low.
• The percent of respondents who said that home prices will go up over the next 12 months fell to 45 percent. The percent who said that home prices will go down remained constant at 9 percent.
• The share who expect mortgage interest rates to go up in the next 12 months rose 1 percentage point to 55 percent. The share who say mortgage rates will go down remained the same at 5 percent.

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