Dive Brief:

• Fewer consumers than ever believe now is a good time to buy a home, according to Fannie Mae’s July 2015 National Housing Survey.

• Americans have grown more pessimistic about their financial situations and the economy, the survey revealed. Just 61% said this is the right time to buy a home — the lowest share in the monthly survey’s history — and 45% said it’s a good time to sell, down 7% from a month earlier.

• In addition, 54% said the economy is on the wrong track, up 3% from June. And the number of people who said they expect their personal financial situations to improve over the next year fell to 44% — which is no surprise, given that 15% reported they are earning “significantly” less than they were a year ago.

Dive Insight:

When income drops and consumers lose confidence in the economy, the housing market suffers.

Still, the reported pessimism may have been skewed by the timing of the survey, which Fannie Mae conducted during the peak of Greece’s economic chaos and China’s stock market plunge. Both situations have stabilized since then.

Plus, Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan noted that the numbers, while down from a month earlier, are still as strong or stronger than they were at this time last year. That, he said in a press release, signals “an improving housing market this year.”

And the survey offered a bit of optimism as well: Participants said they expect home prices to rise this year, and 65% said if they were to move, they would like to buy instead of rent.