WASHINGTON— Consumer sentiment around the ability to purchase a home remains down, according to Fannie Mae’s September 2025 National Housing Survey® , which includes the Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), a measure of consumer sentiment toward housing.
Month over month, the HPSI remained unchanged at 71.4. Year over year, the HPSI is down 2.5 points, Fannie Mae reported.
Two out of six HPSI components decreased during September — Buying Conditions and Mortgage Rate Outlook. The decreases were counteracted by increases in Job Loss Concern and Change in Household Income. Selling Conditions and Home Price Outlook were flat month over month.According to the new HPSI data:
• The net share of consumers (-46%) who say it is a good time to buy a home decreased 2 percentage points since last month. The share who say it is a good time to buy decreased 1 percentage point (27%), while the share who say it is a bad time to buy (73%) increased 1 percentage point.
• The net share of consumers who say it is a good time to sell remained the same (17%). A majority of consumers (57%) say it’s a good time to sell, while 41% say it’s a bad time to sell.
• The net share of consumers who say home prices will go up (18%) remained the same as last month. The share of consumers who expect home prices to go up also remained the same (40%), while the share who expect prices to go down also remained the same (22%).
• The net share of consumers who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months decreased five percentage points to 2% in September.
• The net share of employed consumers who say they are not concerned about losing their job increased five percentage points to 50%.
• The net share who say their household income is significantly higher than a year ago increased one percentage point to 6%. A majority of consumers (77%, a new survey high) say their household income is about the same as it was a year ago. Only 14% of consumers say their income is higher than a year ago.
• Consumers expect rental prices to increase 6% on average (a 1.1 percentage-point increase month over month) and home prices to increase 1.8% on average (a 0.4 percentage-point increase month over month) over the next year.
• The share of consumers who expect home rental prices to go up (64%) increased one percentage point from last month, while the share who expect rental prices to go down decreased four percentage points to 8%. A quarter (26%) of consumers expect home rental prices to stay the same (up two percentage points from August).
• The share of consumers who say they would buy a home if they were going to move (67%) decreased one percentage point month over month. The share who say they would rent if they were going to move increased one percentage point to 33%.
• The share of consumers who expect their personal financial situation to get better decreased one percentage point (32%), while the share who expect it to get worse increased one percentage point to 23%. The share who expect their personal financial situation to stay the same held steady at 45%.
• The share of consumers who say the economy is on the right track decreased three percentage points to 32%, while the share who say the economy is on the wrong track increased three percentage points to 67%.
