The monthly housing survey by Fannie Mac showed that more people were willing to buy a home after a move and expect home prices to grow by a significant amount over the next year. However, fewer respondents considered it a good time to buy as more expressed concerns about economic conditions.

Fannie Mae says one of the strongest positive indicators in the April survey came in the question of whether the respondent would buy a home or rent if they were to move. Sixty-three percent said they would buy, a 3 percent increase from March and a turnaround from the 6 percent drop over the February and March survey. It was still a slightly lower share than the same month in 2014, when 65 percent said they would buy a home after a move.

The share of those who said they would rent in the event of a move dropped to 34 percent. This marked a 2 percent reduction from March and was the same share as the year before.

Sixty-three percent said they consider it a good time to buy a home, down 3 percent from March, 4 percent from February, and 6 percent from a year ago. However, the share of those considering it a good time to sell tied a survey high at 46 percent. This was the same share as the March survey and 4 percent higher than April of 2014.

The share of respondents who think it would be easy to get a mortgage stood at 52 percent, a 7 percent increase from the previous year and 2 percent increase from March. Forty-six percent said they thought it would be difficult to get a mortgage, the same as the previous month but 6 percent less than the April of 2014 survey.

Opinions on the United States economy worsened slightly, with 49 percent saying they considered the economy on the wrong track. This share was up 1 percent from March, but 8 percent lower than the previous year. Forty-two percent considered the economy to be on the right track, down 3 percent from March and 5 percent from February. However, this was also 7 percent higher than April of 2014.

"The spring and summer home buying season has gotten off to a stronger start, reflected in some of the improvement in consumer housing sentiment," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "The share of consumers who intend to own rather than rent their next home rebounded after a two-month slide. Meanwhile, home price growth expectations strengthened to the strongest pace since last October. Nevertheless, consumers continue to express concerns about the recent weakening economic conditions and high home prices. These combine to depress the share of consumers believing it is a good time to buy a home. When we consider both the continued caution of consumers and the positive start to the year, we believe that these results support our expectation that 2015 will be a year of modest growth in housing activity."

Respondents expected that home prices will go up by 2.8 percent over the next year. This estimate has increased steadily in recent months, rising from 2.6 percent in February and 2.7 percent in March. It was slightly lower than April of 2014, when respondents estimated a 12-month home price change of 2.9 percent.

Forty-six percent expect home prices to go up in the next year, down 2 percent from both March and 4 percent from the prior year. Forty-one percent expected prices to stay the same, a 2 percent increase from both the previous month and previous year. Seven percent expect prices to decrease, down 1 percent from March and up 2 percent from April of 2014.

The share of respondents who believe mortgage rates will increase remained at 52 percent, the same as both the March survey and April of 2014 survey. The share of those expecting rates to stay the same has fallen for the past few months, standing at 34 percent in the most recent survey; this was a 3 percent drop from March and a 4 percent drop from the prior year. Seven percent think rates will go down, the same as a year ago and 3 percent more than the March survey.

The expected change in home rental prices rose to 4.1 percent. This estimate has remained steady over the past year, standing at 4 percent a year ago and hitting a low point of 3.6 percent in November.

Fifty-four percent expect home rental prices to increase, up 1 percent from March and 2 percent from April of 2014. Thirty-eight percent expect rental prices to stay the same, the same share as the previous two surveys and 5 percent less than the prior year's April survey. Only 3 percent expect home rental prices to drop, down 1 percent from March and up 1 percent from a year ago.

Despite the increase in pessimistic opinions about the economy, more respondents said they expect their personal financial situation to change for the better. Forty-five percent said they think their finances will improve over the next year, a 4 percent increase from March and 3 percent increase from the April of 2014 survey.

The share of respondents expecting their personal financial situation to stay the same stood at 44 percent, the same as the March survey and 1 percent less than a year ago. Ten percent think their finances will worsen, down 4 percent from March and 2 percent from the April of 2014 survey.

Sixty-two percent said their household income is about the same as a year ago, the same as the April of 2014 and a 1 percent increase from March. The share of respondents saying their income has risen significantly stood at 24 percent, a 2 percent increase from March but a 1 percent decrease from April of 2014. Twelve percent said their income is significantly lower, the same as a year ago but 3 percent lower than the March survey.

Sixty percent reported that their household expenses are about the same as the previous year, an 8 percent increase from March and 2 percent increase from April of 2014. The share of those reporting significantly higher expenses fell to 29 percent, a 6 percent drop from March and 4 percent drop from a year ago. Nine percent said their expenses are significantly lower, 3 percent less than in March and 1 percent higher than in April of 2014.

Fannie Mae's monthly housing survey polls a representative sample of 1,000 American adults on their opinions about the housing market and economy. Responses are collected via telephone interviews.