Buyers' and Sellers' Confidence Diverges

The gap between those who say it's a good time to buy a home and those who say it's a good time to sell is growing larger. Sixty-eight percent of Americans say now is the time to buy, a month-over-month rise of 3 percentage points, according to Fannie Mae's November 2014 National Housing Survey of 1,000 respondents. On the other hand, the number of Americans who say it's a good time to sell fell 5 percentage points to 39 percent.
   One of the most encouraging signs for the housing market's future: Consumers' personal financial outlook is improving. Forty-six percent of Americans say they expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next 12 months. That's close to the survey's all-time high.
  Also, among the survey's findings:

• 45 percent of respondents say they believe mortgage rates will rise in the next 12 months (a drop of 3 percentage points from the previous month);
• 53 percent say they expect rental prices to rise in the next 12 months (a rise of 4 percentage points from last month);
• 62 percent say they would buy a home if they were going to move, while the share who say they'd rent rose to 31 percent;
• 25 percent say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago (the same as last month);
• 36 percent say their household expenses are significantly higher than they were 12 months ago (the same as last month).