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Fannie Mae has just released their May 2015 National Housing Survey, which asked 1,000 consumers for their views and attitudes about home ownership. The results? Attitudes and incomes are both strengthening. In fact, 28% of those surveyed reported significant income growth in the past 12 months, up six percent in the last two months and nearing an all-time high. Naturally, an increase in income reflects positively on the future of the housing market. Even so, income growth wasn't the only good news in the survey!

The first Opportunity Cost Report has been published by Realtor.com, detailing the potential cost savings to be had by buying a home now rather than waiting until later. The cost of renting and current homeownership advantages for each market are two of the many factors that were analyzed in an attempt to put an exact dollar amount on long-term gains associated with immediate home purchase. The results were decidedly in favor of buying now, with the average buyer expected to reap savings totaling $217,726 over a 30-year period.

Although there is a huge amount of variation between different housing markets, the report found that buying now resulted in over $100,000 in financial benefit in 88% of metro areas. A number of elements fueled these gains, including projected increases in rent, interest rates, and home prices.

These are the 10 markets with the greatest potential gains in wealth:

According to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, April exhibited the highest number of contract signings in nearly nine years. April was also the fourth straight month of increases in pending home sales, which were up 3.4 percent month-over-month and up 14 percent above April 2014 levels, the largest annual increase since September 2012.