Posted on Monday, October 17, 2011
It has been said perception is the only reality – so we like to follow national consumer perception surveys to gain a sense of buyer and seller behavior. Today we have the highlights of a Fannie Mae survey of US consumers showing continued skepticism regarding future home prices but hanging on to a belief rates are going to hold. Here are the highlights of the findings from Fannie Mae and provided by Florida REALTORS:
• Only 33 percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months (down 12 percentage points since August – the lowest number recorded in Fannie Mae’s monthly tracking).
• For the fourth month in a row, Americans expect home prices to decline over the next year. On average, Americans expect home prices to go down by 1.1 percent, the highest expected decline to date.
• Only 18 percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the lowest reported number to date in the National Housing Survey, while 25 percent say they expect home prices to decline (down by 2 percentage points since August).
• While 68 percent of Americans say it is a good time to buy a home (down 1 percentage point since last month), only 10 percent of those polled say it is a good time to sell one’s home (up by 1 percentage point since August).
• On average, Americans expect home rental prices to go up by 3.3 percent over the next year, down slightly from the expected increase of 3.5 percent observed in August.
• Despite continued consumer caution about taking on a large financial obligation to buy a home, 63 percent say they would buy their next home if they were going to move (up by 1 percentage point since August), while 32 percent of Americans say they would rent their next home (down 2 percentage points since last month).
Keep in mind all real estate is local – and I mean very local. In Naples, Florida the market is very different by neighborhood and sometimes within each of our 100+ gated communities. For example in one community we are looking at today with clients multiple offers have arrived on $500,000 to $1,000,000 properties primarily for renovation or folks planning to live for a couple of years and move up or on. In other areas we are still stuck in the post 2007 world of declining property values and slow selling. Same town, similar location features, very different markets.
Tell us what you think and talk to us about Naples Real Estate – have a great week!
