National + Finance | June 8, 2021

Fannie Mae: Consumers Take Dim View of Current Homebuying Conditions

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index remained relatively flat in May, increasing by 1.0 points to 80.0. Although four of the HPSI’s six components increased month over month, the homebuying conditions component declined to an all-time survey low, with only 35% of respondents believing it’s a good time to buy a home, down from 53% in March.

Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, said that within May’s flat reading for the HPSI, “some of its underlying components shifted significantly, with consumers feeling substantially more positive about their jobs and income, while at the same time showing even greater pessimism about homebuying conditions compared to last month.”

He added that despite the challenging buying conditions, “consumers do appear more intent to purchase on their next move, a preference that may be supported by the expectation of continued low mortgage rates, as well as the elevated savings rate during the pandemic.”

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Fannie Mae’s Duncan

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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