Consumer attitudes toward the housing market turned decidedly rosier in February, according to Fannie Mae.
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 5.6 percentage points to 88.3, representing an all-time high. Altogether, five of the six components that make up the index increased.
The share of Americans who feel now is a good time to buy increased 11 percentage points. Similarly, the share who reported that now is a good time to sell a home jumped 7 percentage points.
The net share of consumers who have greater confidence in not losing their jobs rose 9 percentage points. Increasing less substantially were the share of respondents whose household income is significantly higher than a year ago and the share of Americans expecting rising home prices. These components rose by 4 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively.
The only component not to increase was the share who think mortgage rates will go down in the next year, which remained unchanged for a third consecutive month.
The improved outlook of the index could be a reflection of higher confidence among millennials, according to Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan.
"Millennials showed especially strong increases in job confidence and income gains, a necessary precursor for increased housing demand from first-time homebuyers," Duncan said in a news release. "Preliminary research results from our team find that millennials are accelerating the rate at which they move out of their parents' homes and form new households."
