Consumer attitudes about the economy and housing market have been up-and-down over the past few months. But despite the volatility, Fannie Mae’s February 2014 National Housing Survey finds that the overall outlook among Americans remains positive. Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said it’s similar to the noisy economic and housing data published over the past few month. The housing recovery is continuing, according to Duncan, and the month-to-month changes in respondents’ perceptions of home-price expectations or the ease of getting a mortgage are a reflection of short-term factors rather than the long-term trend. Generally, Americans’ attitudes about economic conditions and the housing market are in positive ranges. In fact, the percentage of participants who said now is a good time to buy a home was up 3 percent in February, reaching 68 percent of survey respondents. Expectations for home prices and mortgage rates also rose, while the share of Americans who feel the economy is on the right track and expect their personal financial situation to improve over the next year fell. More here.