Americans are less certain that the housing market has bottomed and continue to be wary of buying a home, according to Fannie Mae’s third quarter nationwide housing survey.

Fewer Americans think it is a good time to buy a home (68 percent, down 2 percentage points since June) and more Americans think it is a bad time to buy (29 percent, up 3 percentage points), according to the survey. The majority of Americans believe it is a bad time to sell a home (85 percent, up 2 percentage points since June).

"Consumer attitudes toward buying a home are more negative since last quarter," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. "Our survey shows that Americans’ declining optimism about housing and their personal finances is reinforcing increasingly realistic attitudes toward owning and renting."

Other findings from the survey include:

• 25 percent of respondents think home prices will rise during the next year (6 percentage points lower than in June)
• 22 percent expect home prices to decline (4 percentage points higher than in June).
• By a ratio of four to one, Americans expect rental prices to rise by 2.8 percent over the next year (compared to a 3.6 percent expected rise in June)
• 66 percent think buying a house is a safe investment (down 1 percentage point from June)
• 50 percent of delinquent borrowers would rather rent than buy their next home (up 10 percentage points since January)