Spring is near, but homebuying optimism has yet to bloom 

While mortgage rates have ticked down in recent weeks, consumers are not convinced the turn for the better will continue.

Fannie Mae's housing sentiment index dropped 1.8 points last month to 71.6, mostly driven by pessimism over mortgage rates coming down. It was the first year-over-year drop since 2023.

With rates hovering around the 7% level during the time the survey was taken, it became the new expectation for the spring season. 

"While some consumers may be slowly acclimating to the higher mortgage rate environment, the vast majority continue to believe it is a 'bad time' to buy a home," said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae's chief economist. "We continue to expect home sales activity to remain relatively light … due to the ongoing lack of supply and overall unaffordability."

Consumers are also not convinced it's a good time to sell a home, with the net share of optimists dropping three points to 25%.

This comes at an uncertain time for Americans as tariffs, federal job cuts and stock market declines take place.

A closer look at survey results, from rates to employment: When asked about mortgage rates, one-third said they expect rates to rise in the next 12 months, while 30% believe rates will go down. In the previous survey, more expected rates to decrease than increase.

Job-loss concerns for the next 12 months also rose slightly from 22% to 23%. Despite the increased concern over employment, the percentage of those who think their income will go up also went up, from 17% to 18%. However, the percentage of those concerned about their income taking a hit in the coming year increased from 9% to 11%.

Consumers are growing more confident that home prices will drop in the coming months, rising one percentage point to 23. Far more — 41% — expect prices to continue rising.