Consumers Gloomiest in a Decade, But Still A Great Time to Sell; Rates Move Higher

Consumers Gloomiest in a Decade, But Still A Great Time to Sell; Rates Move Higher

The chief finding from Fannie Mae's November National Housing Survey (NHS) was an increase in consumer pessimism. The company says respondents to the right track/wrong track question expressed the most downbeat attitude in 10 years. Seventy percent of those expressing an opinion about the direction of the economy said it was on the wrong track, a 5 point month-over-month increase. Only 22 percent chose the opposite answer. The right/wrong track question is not among the six that are used to construct Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), but four of the six components that are decreased during the month. This brought the index down 0.8 points from October to 74.7, marking a 5.3-point year-over-year decline. Consumers still overwhelmingly think it is a good time to sell, with 74