We invite you to browse the second quarter 2017 First American Real Estate Sentiment Index, which is based on a quarterly survey of independent title agents and other real estate professionals, providing a unique gauge on the real estate market using the crowd-sourced wisdom and expertise of real estate experts.

“Overall, confidence among title agents and real estate professionals in transaction volume growth in the coming year swelled this quarter, surging 9.1 percent.”

Highlights from the Q2 2017 RESI include:

• Title agent and real estate professional confidence in 2017 outlook up from first quarter: “Overall, confidence among title agents and real estate professionals in transaction volume growth in the coming year swelled this quarter, surging 9.1 percent. The increase was driven by the rise in expectations for both purchase transactions and refinance transactions amid persistent low mortgage rates,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American.

• Down payment is biggest obstacle for homebuyers: “As with generations past, the primary challenge of saving the all-important down payment remains the single most important impediment to achieving the goal of homeownership,” said Fleming. “Title agents and real estate professionals most frequently cited saving for a down payment as the primary obstacle to those that decide to become a homeowner (38 percent). Overall affordability was the second most cited obstacle (31 percent), followed by the lack of inventory in the market (19 percent) and access to credit (12 percent).”

For more information and analysis, including title agent and real estate professional sentiment on price and transaction volume growth by property type nationally and at the state level, please visit the Real Estate Sentiment Index.