July 29, 2019
Confidence in the Marketplace
Over the course of May, American consumers saw their confidence in the housing market rise again. (We knew it would.) The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which measures the way the populace feels about the marketplace (which in turn tends to be a solid indicator of how well the market is doing in fact and will do in the foreseeable future, barring the initiation of any crisis), rose to 92 in May. This was the highest it has been since the record high the index saw exactly one year prior, when it reached 92.3. The index had fallen 1.5 points over the course of April, causing worry that we were seeing a downward trend in consumer confidence, but 92 is a 3.7 point rise over April’s figure.
The Home Purchase Sentiment Index measures consumer confidence across six different factors, and is a composite of these six components. May’s rise in overall consumer confidence is attributed to the increase in four of these factors, as detailed below.
First of all, respondents were asked whether they consider now a “Good Time to Buy,” to which 27 percent responded in the affirmative (a rise of 13 percent over April). Then they were asked whether they consider it a “Good Time to Sell” at present—43 percent said yes, but this did not add to the rise in confidence, as this figure was identical to April’s. When asked whether they believe “Home Prices Will Go Up” (over the next 12 months), 41 percent of respondents said they believe they will, which was a 5 percent increase over April. When asked whether they think “Mortgage Rates Will Go Down” (in the next 12 months), -37 percent (yes, you read that right) said they believed this would be the case, a 3 percent rise from April. When asked about their “Confidence About Not Losing (their) Job” (over the next 12 months), 76 percent said they felt confident they would not, which was an increase of 2 percent over April’s response. But—in the one category moving counter to the overall rise in consumer confidence—when researchers asked respondents whether “Household Income is Significantly Higher” (over the past 12 months), the response was 21 percent—which registered a one percent drop over April’s positive response rate.
If you’re looking to make good on your confidence in the real estate market, whether in Jacksonville, Florida; Rockport, Massachusetts; or Cumberland, Rhode Island, you’ll want to ensure clear title to your property in order to mitigate your risks. At Topouzis & Associates, P.C., we perform extensive title searches in these three states, and we provide Owners Policies of Title Insurance so that you can feel more secure in your investments and not find yourself subject to losing properties into which you’ve already poured significant time and money. Contact us for more details.
