The Good News: Consumers’s confidence in US economy grows
The Bad News: Household income fallen in last year 14% of Americans
“Americans are growing more and more cheery when it comes to the state of the economy, but their feelings regarding the housing sector remain tepid, according to survey results released Tuesday.
“Out of a group of 1,000 Americans polled in Fannie Mae’s December National Housing Survey, 41% said they now believe the economy is “on the right track,” up from 36% in November, the company reported. While the share of consumers saying the economy is headed in the wrong direction is still high at 51%, it continued to trend downward in December, marking five consecutive months of declines.
“Only 61% of consumers said they would buy a house if they were going to move anytime soon—a survey low.”
“Given the kind of long-term commitment homeownership represents, Duncan said he isn’t surprised that the housing sector is lagging behind the rest of the economy in terms of consumer confidence,” states Doug Duncan, SVP and chief economist at Fannie Mae.
“On one bright note, the share of consumers who think it would be easy to get a mortgage today increased to match the all-time survey high of 52%, while the share saying it would be difficult to get a loan dropped to a low of 44%.”
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Clint Patterson (BRE #01877253) with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is a real estate professional specializing in Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Los Angeles South Bay beach cities, and a member CALIFORNIA REALTORS®.