Confidence in housing market hits 4-year high

You can’t keep confidence down

Rising home prices and mortgage rates can’t keep homebuyers down. According to a new survey, confidence in the U.S. housing market is at record highs—particularly across the South and West.

Confident and cool

According to the Chase Housing Confidence Index, housing market confidence is at its highest point since 2014. The Index takes into account homeowner and renter opinions on market conditions, homeownership aspirations, affordability and expectations.

“These record results were driven by healthy assessments of local real estate market conditions among existing homeowners, but even more so by surging expectations among renters,” said Terry Loebs, founder of Pulsenomics, which partners with Chase on the Index. “Seven in 10 renters now express confidence in their ability to afford a home someday, and nearly three-quarters of those with an opinion say that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.”

Nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said now is a good time to sell. Just 17 percent said it’s a bad time to buy, with affordability being the most-cited challenge.

Where confidence is highest

Housing confidence is highest across the South and West, with Dallas showing the most local market confidence in the nation. Improving job opportunities and increasing homeownership aspirations among renters are likely the reason.

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According to the Index, “Eighty percent of Dallas renters are confident they will own a home someday, while 70 percent plan to purchase in the next five years. More than 60 percent of Dallas homeowners said it is a good time to sell a home, with the majority citing the abundance of home shoppers as the most important reason.”

Other cities with high levels of confidence included Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Jose, California.

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