ShareREALTORS® remained generally confident about the outlook for all property types in the next six months, according to the April 2015 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey [1]. The April 2015 report is based on the responses of 2,012 REALTORS® about local market conditions in April.
Low 30-year fixed mortgage rates holding to below 4 percent in April, continued job creation (3.5 million net new jobs since 2014), and measures to ease credit tightness and affordability (lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums, 3 percent down payment for GSE-backed loans) are likely underpinning the improvement in confidence.
The following maps show the REALTOR® Confidence Index-Six-Month-Outlook by state based on data gathered from February-April 2015.[2]In the case of single family homes, all states registered an index greater than 50 for the third month in a row, which means that the number of respondents who had a “strong” outlook outnumbered those with “weak” outlook. Despite the slump in oil prices, the real estate market remained broadly “strong” in North Dakota, Texas, and Oklahoma where the indexes were above 50. Colorado had the hottest market for townhomes, but demand was also strong in many states in the West(CA, NV, OR,WA), Midwest (ND SD,NE,KS,TX ) and the East Coast (FL,SC,VA,PA,NY,MA,NH).
[1] Respondents were asked “What are your expectations for the housing market over the next six months compared to the current state of the market in the neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales?”
[2] The market outlook for each state is based on data for the last 3 months to increase the observations for each state. Small states such as AK,ND, SD, MT, VT, WY, WV, DE, and the D.C. may have less than 30 observations.