A New Survey Shows That Americans Are Getting Even More Optimistic About Housing

The latest monthly national housing survey from Fannie Mae shows that a record 43 percent of those polled in December expect home prices to rise in 2013.

However, 20 percent said they expect their personal financial situation to deteriorate in the next 12 months — the highest level since 2011 — and those who said the economy is on the right track fell by 5 percentage points.

"...Combined with consumers’ growing mortgage rate and rental price increase expectations, the positive home price outlook could incentivize those waiting on the sidelines of the housing market to buy a home sooner rather than later and thus support continued housing acceleration,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae in a press release.

“Despite continued strengthening in the housing market, consumers’ concerns over the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling have caused considerable volatility in their perceptions of the larger economy. This uncertainty seems to be prompting a growing share of consumers to expect their personal finances to worsen and may contribute to weaker near-term economic growth.”

Here are some key charts: