This year’s results show that nearly nine out of 10 consumers believe that buying a home is a good financial decision. Fifty-nine percent of respondents also agree that now is a good time to buy a home; that number is even higher (64 percent) in areas of recent home price declines.

Other nuggets from the survey, which the Realtors say was a telephone poll of 1,000 people last month and (wonk alert) has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points:

--"More than eight in 10 say having enough money for down payment and closing costs are obstacles for home buyers in their area, up 17 percent from 2005."

--"Sixty-three percent also think the mortgage approval process is an obstacle, up 13 percent since 2005."

--"When asked how big of a problem foreclosures were in their area, 38 percent of respondents said foreclosures were a very big or moderate problem, but the majority, 51 percent, said foreclosures were only a slight problem or not one at all."

--"Of those surveyed, more than one in five homeowners have some type of variable-rate mortgage, including interest-only (15 percent), adjustable-rate (6 percent) and a balloon or other large payment due in the next five years (2 percent)."