{"id":7521,"date":"2015-02-12T14:15:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T14:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=7521"},"modified":"2015-02-12T14:15:36","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T14:15:36","slug":"income-increases-boosting-housing-optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/income-increases-boosting-housing-optimism\/","title":{"rendered":"Income Increases Boosting Housing Optimism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Income Increases Boosting Housing Optimism<\/h2>\n
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Income Increases Boosting Housing Optimism. Image courtesy of pakorn \/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/p><\/div>\n

The number of households saying their income is significantly higher than it was a year ago is on the rise, as is the number expecting their financial situation to continue to move significantly higher over the next year \u2014 both reaching all-time survey highs in Fannie Mae\u2019s January 2015 National Housing Survey, a poll of 1,000 Americans\u2019 attitudes toward owning and renting a home.<\/p>\n

Twenty-nine percent of households say their income is \u201csignificantly higher\u201d now than it was 12 months ago. Also, 48 percent say they expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year.<\/p>\n

The increases in income are translating into higher optimism about the housing market. The number of households who said it was a good time to buy a home rose 3 percentage points in January to 67 percent, according to the survey. Also, the share of households who say they\u2019d rather buy than rent if they were to move rose 5 percentage points to 66 percent, marking the first increase since September 2014, the survey shows. What\u2019s more, 44 percent of households now say it\u2019s a good time to sell, tying an all-time survey high.<\/p>\n

“Consumers are as positive about their personal finances at the start of 2015 as they have been since we launched the National Housing Survey in 2010, and this optimism seems to be spilling over into housing market attitudes,” says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Consumers are more optimistic about the environment both for buying and for selling a home today, and the share who plan to own on their next move has jumped back up, reversing a three-month trend toward renting. \u2026 Overall, these are good signs to start off 2015 and are consistent with our expectation that strengthening employment and economic activity will boost the speed of the housing recovery.”<\/p>\n

Additional findings from Fannie Mae\u2019s January survey include:<\/p>\n