Home sellers are feeling a lot more optimistic about the housing market, according to a new Fannie Mae survey, ahead of the spring home-buying season.

In February, the monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index by the government-sponsored enterprise rose for the third month in a row to 72.8. That’s the highest share since March 2022.

About two-thirds of consumers (65%) surveyed said it’s a good time to sell a home, up from 60% the previous month.

“Consumer attitudes toward home-selling conditions increased markedly in February, with current homeowners, in particular, expressing greater optimism that it’s a ‘good time to sell,’ a development that may foreshadow an upcoming increase in existing home listings,” Doug Duncan, chief economist and senior vice president at Fannie Mae, said in a statement.

But home-buying sentiment remains muted. The share of respondents who said it’s a good time to buy a home in February rose modestly to 19% from 17%, Fannie Mae said.

Around 35% of people surveyed also expect mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months, which is only down 1 percentage point from the previous month.

If mortgage rates fall close to or even below 6% by the end of the year, as Fannie Mae expects, “it’s likely that consumer sentiment on both sides of the transaction will improve, perhaps leading to a further thawing of the housing market,” Duncan said.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 7.02%, as of March 1, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

And an increasing share believed that home prices were to go up in the next 12 months, rising to 42% from 37%.

The median price of a resale home in January, the most updated figure available, was $379,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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