Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey for April showed us some nice improvement in consumer sentiment. The share of those surveyed who said they’d prefer to buy a home if they moved grew to 63%. Fannie’s chief economist further noted that “home price growth expectations strengthened to the strongest pace since last October. ?Fannie expects that “2015 will be a year of modest growth in housing activity.”
Whether growth winds up modest or not, housing activity is moving ahead nicely for now. The Mortgage Bankers Association Applications Survey for the week ending May 1 reports the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index up 1%, to its highest level since June 2013. Unadjusted, it was up 12% over the same week a year ago. Analysts say rising employment rates and solid home values are boosting the market. Values continued to grow according to a major data aggregator, who reported home prices in March were up 2% monthly and up 5.9% over a year ago. It was the 37th month in a row of annual price gains. Prices were at or within 10% of peak levels in 27 states and D.C.?