Nearly 30% Believe Home Prices Will Rise in 2012: Fannie Mae

More Americans expect that home prices will recover over the course of 2012, just as they believe that mortgage rates will remain at all-time lows and more think the economy will enter an upswing.

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Mortgage giant ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/index.html said in a January National Housing Survey that 28 percent of Americans believe that home prices will rise over the next year by 1 percent, up from 2 percent last month.

Of the survey respondents, 8 percent said that interest rates for mortgage loans will decline in 2012, down 2 percent from December.

Unchanged from last month, 71 percent said that it is a good time to buy a home, compared with 10 percent who said that it is a good time to sell.

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Americans largely stayed the course in their desires to own homes. While 30 percent wanted to rent their next homes, 64 percent said they still wanted to make home purchases.

""Consumer sentiment has continued to rebound to the level witnessed around a year ago since hitting a setback last summer. The strengthening employment picture last Friday provides encouragement that the improving trend in consumer confidence will continue and will at some point be reflected in a firming up of consumer spending,"" ""Doug Duncan"":http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/about-us/company-overview/leadership/duncan.html, VP and chief economist with Fannie Mae, said in a statement.

He added that the ""rebound may be slow in coming as consumers still seem to be deleveraging and aren't yet fully confident of their household finances.""

Duncan said that the Fed's decision to keep interest rates low until 2014 played a role in fewer expectations for higher rates in the next 12 months.

""If the employment market continues to strengthen, it is unlikely that the Fed will be able to keep its low interest pledge for long, and a more meaningful housing recovery may not be far behind if consumers are faced with the prospect of rising mortgage rates and home prices amid increased job security,"" he said.

Thirty percent of Americans believe that the economy is on the right track ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô an 8-percent increase from last month. The number for those who believe it is on the wrong track fell to 63 percent by comparison.