More homeowners think now is the best time to sell, but that doesn’t mean they’re listing homes

More homeowners think now is the perfect time to sell than they have in the past 26 years. But that positive sentiment has done nothing to boost listing inventory and alleviate the tight housing market.

In early May, 39 percent of respondents in a survey conducted by the University of Michigan said conditions for selling a home were optimal because of favorable prices, Bloomberg News reported.

That was the highest share of homeowners who had a positive view on the market since late 1992.

But even though a greater share of homeowners think now is the best time to sell than they did during the peak of the house-flipping cycle in mid-2005, when the figure stood at 30 percent, the sentiment hasn’t led owners to list their homes for sale.

One explanation could be the fact that borrowing costs have climbed since the end of last year, making housing less affordable, especially for first-time buyers. The national rate for a 30-year mortgage is at a seven-year high at an average of 4.61 percent, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from last year’s low of 3.78 percent in September. [Bloomberg] – Rich Bockmann