Confidence in home sales among title agents and real estate professionals rose sharply by 9.1% in the second quarter of this year, according to the First American Financial Corp (FAF), which conducts the quarterly Real Estate Sentiment Index survey.
Mark Fleming, FAF?s chief economist said in a press release: “The increase was driven by the rise in expectations for both purchase transactions and refinance transactions amid persistent low mortgage rates.?

The Public Thinks Now Is Good Time to Buy

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey conducted in the second quarter of 2017, 70% of people believed that now is a good time to buy a home; however, those who believed that strongly decreased slightly from 47% in Q1 to 43% in Q2. On the contrary, only 30% believed that now is not a good time to buy a home.

Those who were the most confident, the NAR said, were those who own homes, those 55 or older, and those with incomes over $50K. People in the Northeast, Midwest and South also were more likely to be confident than those in other regions. Least confident were renters, people younger than 34, and those living in urban areas.

Signs Show Real Estate Market Will Get Hotter

The real estate market is hot right now, with home sales up, and home prices on the rise and hitting record highs in some markets. In fact, the NAR reported in late June that home prices have been rising every month for five years. The median price for an existing home reached $252,800 in May, exceeding the peak from last of $247,600.

If you think this is good news, there?s more! According to the experts, there are a number of indicators that the market is only going to get better. Here are just a few:

• Mortgage Activity Is on the Rise: Purchases are up by 3% over last year, according to recent information from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• Single-Family Home Completions Are Up: Even though single-family housing starts were slightly down this May, single-family housing completions were up by 14.6% over May of last year.
• Unemployment Is Low: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a low unemployment rate of 4.3% for May.

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