Consumer Confidence Up in March

In March, consumer confidence in housing hit its highest level since June 2018, according to the latest data from government-backed lender Fannie Mae.

The share of Americans who thought it was a good time to buy a home in March grew 7 percent to 22 overall over the previous month, though the share was down 10 percent annually, CNBC reports. As for home sellers, confidence was up four percent annually to 43 percent, and grew 13 percent over the previous month. Additionally, more consumers thought that home prices would rise than they did in February.

Continuing a five-month trend, the share of consumers who believe mortgage rates will go down increased 7 percentage points, as rates dropped sharply in March.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage jumped over 5 percent at the start of November, after moving slowly higher last summer. It then began falling in December but took a deep dive in the middle of March. It has moved slightly higher since then but is still below where it was at this time a year ago.

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