71% Say Housing Market Will Improve Only When Economy Does

The FINANCIAL — Seventy-one percent (71%) of Americans say the U.S. housing market will only improve when the overall economy gets better, an eight-point increase from February when President Obama first announced his $275-billion national mortgage assistance plan.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 21% of adults now believe it is possible for targeted government programs to help the housing market instead. That’s down four points from the earlier survey.

Investors share similar views: 23% think government programs will help the housing market, but 69% say the overall economy needs to improve first.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Republicans say the housing market will only get better when the full economy improves, compared to 58% of Democrats and 72% of adults not affiliated with either party.

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"With housing foreclosures rising in the first quarter of the year in spite of his “Making Home Affordable” plan, the president is now expanding the program to allow more people to participate. But Americans have mixed feelings about growing the taxpayer-funded program," Rasmussen Reports says.

Thirty-five percent (35%) of Americans agree with the president that the program should be expanded, but 43% say the program should be ended. Twenty-one percent (21%) are not sure.

Forty-six percent (46%) say the government should not get directly involved in the housing market, but 42% favor a government program that helps all homeowners reduce their payments. Just nine percent (9%) say the government should help only those who face foreclosure.

At the end of May, 42% of Americans said it will take more than three years for housing prices to recover, up three points from January, but 41% expected a recovery in three years or less.

Earlier that month, only 49% of homeowners said their house is worth more than the amount they still owe on their mortgage, down 12 points since December.

In April, 61% of Americans said buying a home is the best investment most families can make, back to where it was in December but down from 73% in February just before the president announced his $275 billion plan to stimulate the housing market.