EVERYONE’S HOUSE VALUE IS DROPPING, EXCEPT MINE
By: Amy Bohutinsky, VP, Communications | August 6, 2008 ZILLOW.COM
It’s a topic dominating the headlines, news shows and the race for president. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know the housing market is in distress and home values are dropping…. right?
Apparently not - at least when it comes to our own homes. Today Zillow released their Q2 Homeowner Confidence Survey — asking more than 1,300 U.S. homeowners their perception of their own home’s current value, as well as what they think will happen with their home and local market in the coming 6 months. The results were eye-opening, to say the least…
- 62% of U.S. Homeowners believe their home’s value has increased or stayed the same in the past year. In reality, 77% of U.S. homes have declined in value over the past 12 Months.
This chart breaks out the difference in homeowner perception vs. reality by region.
Looking into the future, homeowners continue to be optimistic — about their own homes, that is. Three out of four (75%) homeowners expect their home’s value will increase or stabilize in the coming 6 months. However, when asked about their local market, 42% think home values in their locality will decrease (compared to the 25% who think this about their own home). Clearly we think it’s the neighbor’s house that will be affected, not ours.