With consumer confidence high, mortgage rates low and home sales on a record pace, the perceived barriers to homeownership have dropped to all-time lows in the 1998 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey.

The survey, completed annually since 1992, involves interviews with more than 2,000 people nationwide. Its margin of error is 3 percent.

Among the findings:

Only 29 percent mentioned "not having enough money for a down payment or closing costs" as being a "major obstacle" to buying a home. That is down from a high of 46 percent in 1996.

The percentage who found "not having enough confidence in the security of your job" as an obstacle to homebuying fell from a high of 48 percent in 1996 to 13 percent this year.

The percentage who perceive having a "good enough credit rating to get a mortgage" as an obstacle declined from a high of 38 percent in 1996 to 16 percent this year.

The percentage who said "not knowing how to get started buying a home" was an obstacle dropped from 32 percent in 1996 to 13 percent this year.

Pub Date: 8/23/98