This time the entity issuing the positive report, a rather idiosyncratic one, is Fannie Mae. The lender also found that people think mortgages will be easier to come by.
The oddity of the result is that most of the consumer opinions are positive or negative, with no “stay the same” option.
The results on their face do not look all that impressive, but Fannie Mae said they mark a new all-time high for the survey. So here they are: 47% of consumers surveyed said that the economy is headed in the right direction, compared to 45% who said it is headed in the wrong direction. FM’s survey project was initiated in 2012, so there are no historical pre-financial implosion numbers to look at.
What is remarkable about the current result is the trajectory of the improvement.
It turns January’s results on their head and then some. A month prior, only 44% of respondents were optimistic, compared to 49% who were pessimistic.
The difference between February 2015 and February 2014 is breathtaking. A year ago, a mere 35% of respondents were among the optimists, and a whopping 57% were expecting another economic downturn.
Fannie Mae said that the 54% who believe it will be easy to get a home mortgage also is a new record for the survey.
67% think it’s a good time to buy a house.
“Continuing improvements in consumer attitudes in this month’s National Housing Survey lend support to our expectation that 2015 will be a year of the economy dragging housing upward,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The share of consumers who think the economy is on the right track rose to a record high since the inception of the survey nearly five years ago and for the first time exceeded the share who believe it’s on the wrong track. Consumer confidence seems to be getting a boost from employment growth. This is reflected in their views on the ease of getting a mortgage today, which also reached a survey high in February. We continue to see strength in attitudes about the current home buying and selling environment and consistently high shares of consumers saying they expect to buy a home on their next move. At the same time, we still need to see further growth in consumer optimism toward personal finances and income for more robust improvement in housing market attitudes.”
RBR+TVBR observation: Buying a house is the biggest investment most consumers will ever make. If two thirds believe this is a great time to make such an investment, there must be millions also ready to buy a car, an appliance or electronics.
When people buy houses, they almost invariably spend a good bit of money on the side as they get set to move in. It’s an expenditure with an economy-friendly ripple effect.
So we have more good news – the trick will be to cash in on it.
