Poll: Most Americans Think it’s a Good Time to Buy a Home

Reuters/Zogby Index: Mood of Americans improves, but recession worries remain

April 18, 2008 – Palm Coast, FL – "Americans are still experiencing the doldrums,” said John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “While each individual question that composes the Reuters/Zogby Index shows a slight move upward, by and large, the numbers are still very negative. In essence, Americans are telling us things are not worse than they were last month and they might be only slightly better than at their lowest point. It appears that in typical fashion, people have adjusted to bad news and are saying that things are just not getting worse.”

Nearly three in four Americans (71%) believe the U.S. economy is currently in a recession, a slight decrease from 74% who said the same last month. This month’s survey also finds fewer Americans give their personal financial situation a negative rating (47%), compared 54% who said the same in March. Slightly more than half (53%) rate their personal financial situation as excellent or good, compared to 46% last month who felt the same. Slightly more than half (54%) also believe now is a good time to buy a new home, although 42% disagreed. The telephone survey included 1,049 likely voters nationwide and was conducted April 10-12, 2008. It carries a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

 For a methodology statement on this poll, please visit:
https://www.zogby.com/methodology/readmeth.dbm?ID=1292