A monthly survey of American consumers last month found that they expect mortgage rates to stay low thanks to Federal Reserve decisions and they expect home prices to begin to rebound, Fannie Mae said.

The company said the January results of a telephone poll of 1,000 people continued a trend seen since hopes sank in mid-2011.

"Their expectations for home prices have improved for the fourth month in a row, with respondents expecting prices to go up by 1.0 percent, on average, during the year," Fannie Mae concluded.

As with so many economic reports of late, caution was in order, however.

"The strengthening employment picture last Friday provides encouragement that the improving trend in consumer confidence will continue and will at some point be reflected in a firming up of consumer spending," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. "That rebound may be slow in coming as consumers still seem to be deleveraging and aren't yet fully confident of their household finances."

Information from the Federal Reserve Board indicates the deleveraging is abating. The Fed found consumer debt rose last year and rose steeply in the fourth quarter.