Home price expectations increased to a record high, according to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey.

Americans’ price expectations have increased to a record high, according to Fannie Mae’s February 2013 National Housing Survey results, while views on their personal financial situation, household income and the direction of the economy fell or remained flat.

Consumer Confidence in the National Housing Survey

Some highlights from the survey:

• Forty-five percent believe home prices will increase in the next 12 months (a survey high); those who believed home prices decrease held steady at the survey low of 10 percent.
• Forty-five percent believe mortgage rates will go up (the highest level since August 2011); Those who think they will decrease held steady at 7 percent.
• Twenty-five percent of respondents say it is a good time to sell a house, the highest level since the survey’s inception in June 2010.
• Fifty percent of those surveyed say home prices will increase in the next 12 months
• At 38 percent, the share of respondents who say the economy is on the right track has held steady over the past three months.
• Twenty-one percent of respondents say their household income is significantly higher than it was two months ago, a 2 percentage point decrease from last month.
• Thirty-one percent report significantly higher household expenses compared to 12 months ago, a 7 percentage point decrease and the lowest level since June.

Doug Duncan Remains Optimistic

“Despite fiscal headwinds and political uncertainty, consumer sentiment toward housing is robust and continues to gather strength,” Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said. “We expect home prices to firm further amid a durable housing recovery, gradually reducing the population of underwater borrowers and helping to boost the share of consumers who say that now is a good time to sell.”

Duncan mentions that rising home price expectations should, “prompt some borrowers to refinance soon to take advantage of more favorable mortgage terms and add to their disposable income.”

For more details about the survey, please read Fannie Mae’s news release on their website.