Consumers expect home prices to increase 3.2% over the next year, according to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York's survey.
That's a slight increase from a month ago, when respondents to the Survey of Consumer Expectations said they expect home prices to increase 3.1%. Consumers have said they expect annual home price increases in the range of 3% to 3.2% since July 2015.
The May 2016 edition of the New York Fed survey also showed earnings growth and household income growth expectations retreated somewhat, while job loss and job finding expectations bounced back from a deterioration in April.
Overall, consumers' inflation expectations remain essentially unchanged. The survey found that median inflation expectations were essentially unchanged at both the one-year and the three-year-ahead horizon at 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
Expectations of rent price changes remained flat, while expectations for changes in the price of food, medical care and college education all declined.
The median one-year-ahead expected earnings growth declined from 2.4% to 2.2%, driven mostly by younger and lower educated respondents, the survey found. There was a noticeable uptick in uncertainty about year-ahead earnings growth.
Mean unemployment expectations fell slightly from 39.3% in April to 39.1% in May. The perceived likelihood of an increase in unemployment has been trending upward since January 2015.
Median expected household income growth retreated from 2.8% in April to 2.4% in May, indicating a pause in the upward movement observed since January, and median household spending growth expectations were unchanged at 3.5%, and remain at the relatively low levels that have prevailed since July 2015.
The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months increased from 12.4% in April to 12.8% in May, but remains within the 10.9% to 13% range observed since January 2015.
The Survey of Consumer Expectations contains information about how consumers expect overall inflation and prices for food, gas, housing and education to behave. It also provides insight into Americans' views about job prospects and earnings growth and their expectations about future spending and access to credit.
