People in the U.S. feel good about their own money, but most (8 out of 10) think now’s not the best time to buy a house. This info comes from a survey done by Fannie Mae.

In this survey:

• 84% said July wasn’t the right month to buy a house – the highest number since they started tracking in 2010.
• Most people felt secure in their jobs and thought they earned the same or even more than last year.
• But high house prices and not-so-great loan rates make them think twice about buying.

Doug Duncan, the big economist guy at Fannie Mae, says that even though people feel good about their own money, they won’t really feel good about buying houses until they become more affordable.

More Survey Details

• Only 1 out of 4 think house prices will drop in the next year.
• Just 16% think loan rates will get better in that time.
• More people now think house prices will keep going up, making houses seem even less affordable.
• A lot of them (64%) think it’s a good time to sell a house, but this feeling hasn’t changed much recently.

Other Interesting Numbers

• The overall feeling (or sentiment) about buying houses, which Fannie Mae measures in a special way, went up a little from June to July.
• Less people now think it’s a good time to buy (18%), compared to 22% in June.
• 82% think it’s a bad time to buy, so the overall positive feeling about buying dropped a lot.

Other Points

• Most people think house prices will still go up over the next year.
• Few believe loan rates will get better.
• 8 out of 10 aren’t worried about losing their jobs.
• Only 9% said they’re earning a lot more now than they did last year.

What the Experts Think

Fannie Mae experts believe the U.S. economy will be okay and won’t crash soon. But they also think the rates for house loans won’t go down much for a while, which could slow down house sales. Also, since many people have good rates on their current houses, they don’t want to sell. The experts guess that these loan rates might drop a bit by the end of 2024.