Consumers are feeling a growing pessimism about the direction of the economy that appears to be spilling over into the housing market in March, Fannie Mae said.
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell 2.5 points to 80.2 in March,
The share of consumers who said their income was significantly higher than 12 months ago fell 4 percentage points to 11%.
The number of survey respondents who said now is a good time to buy a house fell 2%. The number of survey respondents who said now is a good time to sell a house fell by 8 percentage points to negative 1%.
Also, consumers are feeling less optimistic about their job security, as the number of survey respondents who said their confidence about not losing their job fell 7 percentage points to 68%.
The index is constructed from National Housing Survey questions that Fannie Mae asks consumers each month.
"The gap between the share of consumers who think the economy is on the wrong track and the share who think it is on the right track has widened, nearly matching its reading last August, when concerns regarding China and oil prices led to the biggest stock market plunge in years," Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist, said in a news release.
