Americans are more depressed about housing than they’ve been in over 10 years

People are uneasy about the housing market.

In June, 20% of consumers said it was a good time to buy a home, but that number fell to just 17% in July.

In July, Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment level, which reflects current views and future expectations of the housing market, dropped to 62.8, down 13 points from a year ago.

That is the lowest level since the market bottomed out in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The affordability crisis is one of the main contributors to the gloomy outlook. The housing market is affected by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. At the end of July, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.3%, up from 32% at the beginning of the year.

Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, said in a statement that the Home Purchase Sentiment Level index has "declined steadily for much of the year."

The perception that it is a bad time to buy or sell a home has been made worse by unfavorable mortgage rates.

In June, the nationwide median listing price hit an all-time high of $450,000 and fell slightly to $449,000 in July. Some consumers are unsure if the downward trend in home prices will continue.

Home prices will go down in the next year, according to a growing share of Fannie Mae survey respondents. The number of people who think home prices have room to go up has gone down.

How does that affect home sales? Some homeowners may choose to list their homes sooner in order to take advantage of perceived high prices, while others may choose to delay their purchase decision in order to believe that home prices will not fall.

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