The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), which measures consumer sentiments about the real estate market, increased a modest 3.7 percentage points from December 2020 to January 2021—which means that, overall, consumers are feeling slightly more optimistic about the housing market.

But consumers are feeling much more optimistic about their prospects of selling a home. The percentage of respondents who reported it’s a good time to sell a home increased from 50 to 57 percent, while the percentage of respondents who reported it’s a bad time to sell decreased from 42 to 33 percent—increase the home selling sentiment indicator by an impressive 16 percentage points.

“Overall, the index’s monthly increase was driven largely by a substantial jump in the share of consumers reporting that it’s a good time to sell a home, with many citing favorable mortgage rates, high home prices, and low housing inventory as their primary rationale,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, said in an overview of the recent HPSI findings on the Fannie Mae website.

The Takeaway:

So, what does that mean for you? Consumers are kicking off 2021 with a renewed optimism that now is a great time to sell—so if you’ve been thinking about listing your home, now would be a great time to capitalize on that enthusiasm and make a move.