Despite market turmoil, most Americans believe home prices are on the mend
OK, that's not my observation, but rather the finding of a recent nationwide poll.
Now of course we have to consider the source here, Fannie Mae, the bloated government-owned mortgage giant. As I wrote a couple days ago, Fannie is so desperate to unload its stockpile of foreclosed properties it is showering brokers and buyers with thousands in incentives.
Still, the poll, conducted for Fannie by market research and consulting firm Penn Schoen Berland, finds that 78 percent of Americans believe either home prices have stabilized or are even poised to go up over the next year.
It's a five percent bump from a similar survey released in January, even amid news the renewed downturn in home sales, if anything, is accelerating. (The exact breakdown is 47 percent who believe prices will stay the same, with 31 percent betting on a rise.)
Moreover, the survey finds 70 percent of Americans agree with that hackneyed old Realtors sales line, that yes, it is a good time to buy.
In fact, it is a significant jump from just this past January, when 64 percent responded affirmatively to that question.
Of course, these responses raise some obvious questions.
If so many believe it is such a great time to buy, why are so few actually taking this advice and putting down money for homes? As mentioned, sales have fallen below even anemic 2009 levels, when the Great Recession was still officially on the books.
The survey, to its credit, offers some clues here, pointing to a growing pessimism underneath some of these bullish attitudes.
And that is a subject that deserves a more thorough airing another day.
Sorry, I am still marveling at this seemingly bottomless well of optimism in the face of a housing market disaster.
