John R. Wood

Every 90 days, Fannie Mae publishes a Quarterly National Housing Survey that covers different aspets of the housing market.   The most recent report was published in March 2012 and it contained some interesting numbers.

• 33% of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the highest level over the past 12 months.
  
• The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy rose to 73%, the highest level in over a year.
  
•  48% of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, the highest number recorded to date.
  
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1% over the next 12 months, the highest number recorded to date.

These records numbers have not been seen in a year or more in some cases. Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae, stated in the report:

“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes. Americans’ rental price expectations for the next year continue to rise, reaching their record high level for our survey this month. With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.”

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