Even as consumer sentiment about housing remained generally pessimistic, a change in perceptions about the future of mortgage interest rates did a lot to brighten the mood of consumers responding to Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey (NHS). The company says its Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) based on that survey rose 2.9 points in December. That month’s reading of 67.2 is the highest for the index since the spring of 2022 and 6.2 points higher than in December 2022.   The increase was largely due to consumers’ expectations that interest rates, already down more than a point from their November levels, would continue to decline over the next 12 months. Thirty-one percent of those responding to the rate prediction question said they expected a decrease, 31 percent said rates would increase, and 36 percent expected no change for a net positive response of 0 percent. This is 22 points higher than in November and a 37-point increase year-over-year. It may have been rate prospects that also gave a slight lift to consumer attitudes toward home buying. The question as to whether it is a good time to do so has been generating a net negative score hovering around a survey low of 70 percent for the last three months. That number rose 5 points in December to a negative net of 66 percent. As for selling, 57 percent of respondents viewed those conditions as good versus 42 percent who did not for a net positive of 17 percent, down 5 points for the month.