Over Half Say Mortgages Easy to Get

Over half of Americans surveyed now think it would be easy to get a mortgage, the first time the public has been mostly optimistic on that measure in several years.

Fifty-one percent of respondents in Fannie Mae’s November National Housing survey said it would be easy to get a mortgage today, the highest rate since the survey was initiated in June 2010. By contrast, one year ago at this time only 41 percent thought it would be easy to get a mortgage.

Fewer see economy on wrong track

Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who said the economy is on the wrong track dropped to 50 percent for the first time since the survey’s inception, down from 75 percent in November 2011. Forty-four percent said they thought the economy is on the right track.

“Consumer attitudes toward both the economy and the housing market continue to gather momentum, with many of our 11key National Housing Survey indicators at or near their two-and-a-half-year highs,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae chief economist.. “On the housing front, attitudes about the current selling environment continue to improve, with a significant increase in those saying it would be a good time to sell. This growing confidence in a housing recovery, in addition to other factors, may reinforce growing consumer optimism regarding the improving direction of the general economy.”

Better selling conditions seen

Among other trends, 23 percent of respondents in November’s survey said they thought it was a good time to sell a home. Although that may seem low, it represents a 5 percentage point increase from the previous month and is the highest figure in the survey’s history.

Two-thirds of respondents said they would buy a home if they were to move, a figure that has held relatively steady.

Some negative signs

There were a few negative signs in the survey. The share who expect home prices to decline over the coming year rose by 4 percentage points in November, to 14 percent, while 41 percent said they expect mortgage rates to rise over the same period, also an increase of 4 percentage points from October’s levels.

The share who said they expect their personal financial situation to worsen over the next 12 months also rose, perhaps due to concerns of the wider economic impacts if Congress fails to address the looming “fiscal cliff.” Eighteen percent said they expect their financial situation to get worse, up from 13 percent last month and the highest since December 2011.

At the same time, 21 percent said their household income has increased significantly over the past year.

First published at: http://www.mortgageloan.com/over-half-say-mortgages-easy-get-9312