Homeowner Perception Changing
According to a recent Zillow Q4 Confidence Survey, 57% of Homeowners believe that their home lost value during 2008. An obvious increase from earlier in 2008 when only 38% believed that their home value was declining.
In reality, 76% of all homes in the U.S. lost value during 2008 (according to Zillow Q4 Real Estate Market Report).
However, most homeowners apopear to believe that the worst may be over. According to the same survey, 70% of homeowners believe their home’s value will either increase or stay the same during the first 6 months of 2009. Only 30% believe the values will continue to decrease.
While it’s clear that more homeowners seem to be accepting the reality of significant loss in their home’s value, there still seems to be an optimism about the future. When asked, most homeowners seem to believe we’ve hit bottom and the worst has passed.
Unfortunately, the data from the report shows that most areas of the country will see housing values continue to decline before things begin to stabilize.
Interestingly, 70% of homeowner’s think their home’s value will increase or stay the same during the first half of 2009, but only 52% believe home values in their local area will increase or stay the same for the same period. 48% think values in their local area will decrease, but only 30% believe the same will happen to their home.
Comparing homeowner’s perceptions from different parts of the country, Southerners perceptions were the farthest from reality.
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