Consumers were feeling moderately confident about the housing market in February, Fannie Mae said.
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 1.2 percentage points to 82.7 in February,
The index is constructed from National Housing Survey questions that Fannie Mae asks consumers each month.
The number of survey respondents who said now is a good time to buy a house rose to 63%. The number of survey respondents who said now is a good time to sell a house fell 2 percentage points to 7%.
"For consumers who think it's a bad time to buy a home...high home prices have been an increasingly contributing factor," Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist, said in a news release.
"A slower pace of home price appreciation may provide some relief for potential homebuyers, especially first-time buyers who couldn't reap the benefits of selling a home at high prices to buy another one," he said.
Also, consumers are feeling more confident about their job security, as the number of survey respondents who said they were unconcerned about losing their job rose to 87%.
