By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Consumer pessimism appears to be eroding Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), which this month posted its lowest reading in 18 months. The HPSI, which distils consumer responses to six key questions from the company’s March National Housing Survey to a single number, decreased by 2.5 points from February to 80.2.
Four of the six index components fell in March. The largest decline was in the net share of consumers who think it is now a good time to sell a home. Positive responses to that question fell by four points to 46 percent while negative responses were down by two, bringing the net down by 8 percentage points to -1 percent. This was the first negative net for the question since early 2015. Responses to the companion question however remained relatively stable with a net of 33 percent of respondents indicating that now is a good time to buy a home compared to a net of 35 percent in February.
