Americans are more confident than they’ve been all year that housing values are going up and also are more likely to say their home is worth more than they owe on it. But they still don’t think it’s a good time to be selling.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 27% of homeowners say the value of their home is likely to go up over the next year. That’s an eight-point jump from August and the highest level of confidence measured this year.

Just 19% say the value of their home is likely to go down in the next year, an eight-point drop from the previous survey. Unchanged is the 49% who expect their home’s value to stay about the same.

Homeowners are slightly more optimistic about long-term values, too. Fifty-four percent (54%) say the value of their home is likely to go up over the next five years, a four-point improvement over August but consistent with findings in the spring.

Fourteen percent (14%) say their home’s value will fall over the next five years, and 25% think it will remain about the same. These numbers have been roughly similar all year.

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But ask homeowners if now is a good time for someone in their area to be selling a home, and just 14% say yes. Seventy-one percent (71%) say no and 15% aren’t sure. That’s little changed from what homeowners have been saying all year.

Sixty-one percent (61%) say their homes are worth more than the amount they still owe on their mortgages. That’s a six-point jump from August and also the most upbeat response this year. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they owe more on their house than it’s worth. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.

Interestingly, however, only 58% now believe a home is the best investment most families can make. That’s the lowest level of the year on this question. Twenty-three percent (23%) disagree and say a home is not a family’s best investment, while 20% are undecided.

Most Americans favor the soon-to-expire federal program that provides first-time home buyers with tax credits of up to $8,000, at least until they hear how much it costs.

Voters remain closely divided on their opinions of President Obama when it comes to economic issues. While 40% say he is doing a good or excellent job handling those issues, 40% say he is doing a poor job.

Still, 55% say the nation’s current economic problems are due to the recession that began under President George W. Bush. Thirty-seven percent (37%) blame the policies Obama has put in place since taking office. These findings have remained relatively stable since May.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters oppose the passage of another economic stimulus package this year. Sixty-seven percent (67%) are against a national sales tax on all goods and services as a new revenue source for the federal government.

For the first time this year though, voters are almost evenly divided when asked if the environment can be protected without hurting the nation’s economic growth.

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