The Bani Group Inc.

Confidence in housing market continues to remain positive:

Housing market confidence among Americans continues to trend in a positive direction despite stalling optimism about the economy and personal finances, according to results from Fannie Mae’s June 2012 National Housing Survey.  Results indicate flattening economic trends may be contributing to waning consumer expectations about their personal financial situation.  Nevertheless, Americans’ continued positive sentiment about housing appears to remain buoyed by low house prices and interest rates at historically low levels.

Highlights of the June survey include:

• Average home price expectation hit 2 percent this month, a 0.6 percent increase from May and the highest value recorded since the survey began in June 2010.
• Thirty-five percent of respondents say that home prices will go up in the next 12 months, the highest level recorded since the survey’s inception.
• Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed think mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months, a 4 percentage point decrease from last month.
• The percentage who say it is a good time to buy increased slightly to 73 percent, matching the highest level recorded since the survey began two years ago, while the percentage who think it is a good time to sell remained at 15 percent.
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices, generally steady since May, to increase by 4.0 percent over the next 12 months.
• Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up in the next 12 months, while 5 percent think they will go down.
• Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that they would buy if they were going to move, a 6 percentage point increase from last month and the highest level recorded since the survey’s inception.
• The percentage of respondents who would rent decreased from 32 percent to 27 percent, the lowest number to date.