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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 46 August 2025 J O U R N A L Lending/Originations EMPLOYMENT CONCERNS DRIVING DOWN HOME PURCHASE SENTIMENT F annie Mae has published the results of its June 2025 National Housing Survey (NHS), which includes the Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), a measure of consumer sentiment toward housing. Month over month, Fannie Mae's HPSI decreased 3.7 points to 69.8, and year over year, the HPSI is down 2.8 points. For the study, Fannie Mae factors in six HPSI components: Buying Conditions, Selling Conditions, Home Price Outlook (next 12 months), Mortgage Rate Outlook (next 12 months), Job Loss Concern (next 12 months), and Change in Household Income (past 12 months). Of the six, the only component to improve in June was Buying Conditions. The remaining five components reported declines. "Driving this month's bout of pessimism [was] a sharp increase in job loss concern and continued uncertainty surrounding the future of mortgage rates," said Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com. "The lone bright spot in the survey results came from prospective buyers starting to recognize the softness in the market at large and responding positively to the question about now being a good time to buy." Of those polled, 28% said it was a "Good Time" to buy a house, while 71% felt it was a "Bad Time" to buy a home. The net share of consumers (-43%) who say it is a good time to buy a home increased five percentage points month over month. The share who says it is a good time to buy increased two percent- age points (28%), while the share that says it is a bad time to buy (71%) decreased three percentage points. The net share of consumers who say it is a good time to sell decreased two percentage points month over month to 21%. Most consumers (60%) say it's a good time to sell, while 39% say it is a bad time to sell. Trends Follow Trends After a strong rebound in May, consumer confidence fell in June, as consumers remain concerned about the economy and labor market amid ongoing uncertainty, especially around tariffs. This decline erased almost half of the previous month's sharp gain, suggesting continued volatility in consumer sentiment. As reported by the Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index, a measure of how optimistic or pessimistic consumers feel about their financial situation, fell from 98.4 to 93 in June 2025—the second lowest level reported since February 2021. Consumers' assessment of current business conditions turned negative in June. Respondents rating business condi- tions as "good" decreased by 2.4 percent- age points to 19%, while those claiming business conditions as "bad" rose by 1.6 percentage points to 15.3%. "Consumer confidence weakened in June, erasing almost half of May's sharp gains," said Dr. Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board. "The decline was broad-based across components, with consumers' assessments of the present situation and their expectations for the future both contributing to the deteri- oration. Consumers were less positive about current business conditions than in May. Their appraisal of current job availability weakened for the sixth con- secutive month but remained in positive territory, in line with the still-solid labor market. The three components of the Expectations Index—business condi- tions, employment prospects, and future income—all weakened. Consumers were more pessimistic about business condi-