President Donald Trump’s trade war has turned perceptions of the U.S. economy upside down, and data is beginning to trickle in on how tariffs might impact consumer behavior in the housing market.
The latest numbers come from Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which measures consumer attitudes on housing using six questions from a national survey. The survey was conducted from April 1-18.
Despite the market turmoil that followed the April 2 announcement of Trump’s new global tariff regime, the index ticked up by 1.1 points compared to March. Even more surprising is that the increase is largely driven by an increase in respondents who aren’t concerned about losing their jobs.
But there’s another signal in the survey that shows a substantial shift in how people view the housing market. The share of respondents who believe it’s a good time to sell a house dropped by 6 percentage points year over year and by 9 points compared to the prior month.
Conversely, attitudes toward buying a house are largely unchanged. The share of respondents who believe it’s a good time to buy rose by 3 percentage points compared to March 2024 and by 1 point month over month.
But while sentiment toward buying hasn’t changed, it’s still very negative, as 77% of respondents say it’s a bad time to buy. The majority of respondents also think it’s a good time to sell, with 58% agreeing.
The survey results are interesting in relation to the current state of the housing market. According to data from Altos, inventory is up significantly all over the country, but home sales haven’t changed relative to last year. This dynamic started in early 2024 and has continued into the 2025 spring homebuying season.
Respondents to the survey may see that inventory is piling up and sales are largely holding steady year over year. In this case, it makes sense that the share of people who believe it’s a good time to sell a house has dropped — since they see there’s more competition among prospective home sellers.
The potential impact of Trump’s tariffs has not yet circulated through the economy or shown up in data in a substantial way as most of them were paused a week after they were announced. But other reports suggest that Americans are taking notice.
Consumer confidence has dropped by a whopping 32% since January. And a survey from Redfin showed that 24% of respondents are canceling plans to make large purchases like homes, while another 32% are pausing their searches.
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