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40 SURVEY: THREE IN FIVE AMERICANS BELIEVE THE COUNTRY IS STILL IN MIDST OF HOUSING CRISIS A new survey of housing attitudes released by the MacArthur Foundation found a majority of Americans believe the country is still not past the housing crisis that began seven years ago. e 2015 How Housing Matters Survey found three in five Americans believe we are "still in the middle" of the housing crisis, or "the worst part is yet to come," of the crisis. e survey also determined Americans be- lieve a middle-class lifestyle is harder to obtain in today's market and it is more likely for a fam- ily to fall from the middle class than join it. "Decent housing at an affordable price remains a challenge for an increasing number of Ameri- cans, even after the recession has formally ended," said Julia Stasch, MacArthur president. "It is disturbing that people feel the American dream and prospects for social mobility are receding. is survey is a wake-up call. People want and expect solutions to the housing crisis to be a higher prior- ity for both national and local leaders alike." e survey was conducted by Hart Research Associates and commissioned by the MacAr- thur Foundation and is the third annual national survey of housing attitudes, the foundation said. e associates interviewed 1,401 adults, mostly millennials between April 27 and May 5. According to the survey, of the three in five Americans who believe the housing crisis is not over, 41 percent believe we are "still in the middle" of the housing crisis, while 20 percent feel "the worst is yet to come." is is an improvement from 2014 when 70 percent of Americans felt the housing crisis had not passed, while 77 percent felt the same in 2013. With such pessimism alive among Americans seven years after the crisis, the foundation noted ongoing concerns about housing affordability as well as lingering economic trauma. "Most Americans do not believe the housing crisis is over, and this has contributed to the public feeling shaken in its optimism about what the future holds, particularly for younger people," said Geoffrey Garin, Hart Research Associates president. "e building blocks of success—having a good job, decent housing, and the ability to save for a secure future—are viewed as harder to achieve than they were a generation ago, and this in turn helps drive pessimism about social mobility. e idea that downward mobility is more likely today than upward mobility turns the American Dream on its head, and is an indicator of how badly confidence has been eroded." Also in June, Fannie Mae released its May 2015 National Housing Survey, revealing a dif- ferent perspective from consumers. e survey found attitudes among consumers concerning the housing market showed vast improve- ment for the month of May, and these positive changes support the case for an increase in hous- ing activity this year. According to Fannie Mae, the survey polled 1,000 Americans via live telephone interview to determine their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership distress, the economy, house- hold finances, and overall consumer confidence. Homeowners and renters were asked more than 100 questions to track attitudinal shifts. "ings are looking up for housing," said Doug Duncan, SVP and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "ose saying it is a good time to sell a house hit a survey high of 49 percent. Also, the percentage of consumers telling us their household income is significantly higher than 12 months ago grew six percentage points to 28 percent over the past two months." DISTRESSED SALES SHARE CONTINUES YEAR-OVER-YEAR DECLINE, FALLS TO 12.1 PERCENT Distressed residential home sales continued their decline in March 2015, accounting for 12.1 percent of all residential sales—a drop of 3.2 percentage points year-over-year, according to CoreLogic's March 2015 Distressed Sales report released in June. March's distressed sales share was the lowest percentage for any March since 2007. According to CoreLogic, distressed sales usu- ally experience a month-over-month decline in March due to seasonality; this past March, the distressed sales share fell by 1.9 percentage points from February. According to CoreLogic, 8.4 percent of home sales were REO transactions in March 2015, while 3.7 percent were short sales, for a total distressed sales share of 12.1 percent. With the latest decline, the distressed sales share has fallen about 63 percent from its peak experienced in January 2009, when distressed sales made up 32.4 percent of all residential home sales. During that peak month, REO sales accounted for 27.9 percent of all home sales, according to CoreLogic. "ere will always be some amount of distress in the housing market, and by com- parison, the pre-crisis share of distressed sales was traditionally about 2 percent," CoreLogic said in the report. "If the current year-over-year decrease in distressed sales share is maintained, the distressed sales share would reach that 'normal' 2-percent mark in mid-2017." e state with the largest distressed sales share was Michigan, where distressed sales made up 22.1 percent of all home sales. Fol- lowing close behind were Florida (22 percent), Illinois (20.1 percent), Maryland (19.5 percent), and Connecticut (19.1 percent). Among states, Nevada experienced the largest year-over-year decline of distressed sales share in March at 8 percentage points, while California was the state with the largest decline from its peak, a drop of57.6 percentage points from its January 2009 peak share of 67.5 percent). Among the 25 core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) with the highest loan count, the three with the highest distressed sales share were all located in Florida. e CBSA with the highest share was Orlando-Kissimmee- Sanford, Florida at 24.6 percent, followed by Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida (24.2 percent), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida (23.5 percent), Chicago-Naperville- Arlington Heights, Illinois (22.9 percent), and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland (19.2 percent). e CBSA with the largest year-over- year distressed sales share decline in March was Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia, where distressed sales share fell 8.8 percentage points from 24.5 percent down to 15.7 percent. e CBSA with the largest decline from its peak total was Riverside-San Bernardino- Ontario, California, where distressed sales are down to 12.9 percent in March 2015 from their peak of 76.3 percent in February 2009.

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