Nearly a third of Americans expect mortgage rates to fall in 2024

A growing number of American expect mortgage rates to fall this year.

According to a new survey from Fannie Mae, as of December some 31% of consumers think that borrowing costs for home loans will decline over the next 12 months, a more optimistic outlook than the previous month. The same percentage of respondents expect mortgage rates to rise, while 36% believe they'll hover around their current level. 

"Notably, homeowners and higher-income groups reported greater rate optimism than renters," Mark Palim, deputy chief economist at Fannie Mae, said in a statement. "In fact, for the first time in our National Housing Survey's history, more homeowners, on net, believe mortgage rates will go down than go up."