Increasing numbers of people believe it is a good time to buy a home, but a gap is opening between this group and those who think it is a good time to sell, according to Fannie Mae's latest monthly survey on attitudes toward the housing market.

In the November survey, 68 percent of respondents said they thought it was a good time to buy. This is an increase of 3 percent from October and 4 percent from November of 2013.

By contrast, the percentage of people who thought it was a good time to sell fell to 39 percent, a 5 percent drop from October. However, this does mark a 2 percent increase over November of 2013.

Fannie Mae says the survey results have reflected an "improving but lacking" trend in the housing market throughout the year. The percentage of respondents with a positive personal financial outlook has increased gradually over the year, while the percentage of people who expect mortgage rates to increase over the next year has declined steadily.

"November's National Housing Survey results support the 2014 trend of gradual, but often sporadic and unspectacular, improvement across a range of indicators measuring consumer attitudes toward housing - mirroring the uneven recovery in housing activity this year," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "We expect consumer attitudes toward housing to improve as the pickup in the overall economy lifts employment and income prospects. However, a sustained improvement in sentiment that could support a robust housing recovery, as policy support is removed, will require meaningful gains in household income. While such gains have so far been elusive, the strength in the November jobs report, which points to faster growth in labor income in the current quarter, marks a good start."

The percentage of respondents who think home prices will go up in the next year held steady at 44 percent, the same percentage who think home prices will stay the same in the next year. In November of 2013, 45 percent of respondents thought home prices would increase in the next year and 42 percent thought they would stay the same.

The percentage of respondents who think home prices will decrease in the next year fell from 7 percent in October to 6 percent in November. Last year, 9 percent of respondents thought home prices would decrease.

The average expectation for a change in home price was 2.6 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percent from October but an increase of 0.1 percent from November of 2013.

Forty-five percent think mortgage rates will increase in the next year, a decrease of 3 percent from October and 14 percent from November of 2013. Forty-one percent expect rates to stay the same, an increase of 3 percent from October and decrease of 8 percent from November of 2013. The percentage of respondents expecting a decrease in mortgage rates fell from 6 percent in October to 4 percent in November; 3 percent expected a decline in mortgage rates in November of 2013.

Throughout the year, respondents have been evenly split on the question of whether it would be easy or difficult to get a mortgage. In November, 48 percent thought it would be easy, the same percentage as October. Forty-seven percent thought it would be difficult, a decrease of 3 percent from October. In November of 2013, 50 percent thought it would be easy to get a mortgage and 49 percent thought it would be difficult.

When asked if they would buy or rent if they were to move, 62 percent said they would buy - a decrease of 3 percent from October and 6 percent from November of 2013. Those who said they would rent increased to 31 percent, a rise of 1 percent from October and 3 percent from November of 2013.

The average expectation of home rental price changes in the next year fell 1 percent from October, to 3.6 percent. This figure was a significant increase from November of 2013, when the average expectation was a 2.8 change, but a decline from a 12-month peak of 4.3 percent in June.

More people also expected home rental prices to increase in the next year. Fifty-three percent think home rental prices will increase, rising 4 percent from October and 3 percent from November of 2013. Those expecting rents to decrease held steady at 4 percent. Those expecting home rental prices to stay the same fell to 37 percent, a decline of 4 percent from both October and from November of 2013.

The number of respondents who believe the economy is on the wrong track decreased from 61 percent in November of 2013 and 53 percent in October to 52 percent in November. Those who believe the economy is on the right track fell 4 percent from October to 36 percent in November; however, this marks a 4 percent increase from November of 2013.

Most respondents - 46 percent - expect their personal financial situation to improve in the next year, an increase of 1 percent from October and 6 percent from November of 2013. Those expecting their finances to stay the same fell from 43 percent in October to 41 percent in November; 39 percent expected their finances to remain unchanged in November of 2013. Twelve percent expected their financial situation to worsen, an increase of 2 percent from October but a decrease of 10 percent from November of 2013.

Sixty-two percent of respondents had a household income that was about the same as it was a year ago, an increase of 3 percent from November of 2013 and 1 percent from October. Those who said their income was significantly higher than a year ago held steady at 25 percent, a 3 percent increase from November of 2013. Those with a significantly lower income stood at 11 percent, a 6 percent decrease from November of 2013 and 1 percent decrease from October.

The share of respondents who said their household expenses were significantly higher than a year ago held steady at 36 percent, an increase of 3 percent from November of 2013. Fifty-one percent said the expenses were about the same, a decrease of 5 percent from November of 2013 and 1 percent from October. Those with significantly lower expenses stood at 11 percent, an increase of 1 percent from both October and November of 2013.

Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey polls 1,000 Americans in telephone interviews, asking more than 100 questions on their housing and financial situation. The purpose of the survey is to "help industry partners and market participants target our collective efforts to stabilize the housing market in the near-term, and provide support in the future."