Friday, October 31, 2008

Homeowners unrealistic about home prices

Diana Olick thinks many homeowners are delusional:
Am I not doing my job? Or is nobody listening? How is it possible, in the midst of the worst credit crisis in history, which is predicated on one of the biggest housing crashes in history, that nearly half of all Americans still don’t get that home prices are falling?

A new survey from Zillow.com finds that a full 49 percent of those surveyed think their home has either retained its value or even gained value in the past year. According to Zillow, 74 percent of all U.S. homes have lost value in the last year. Don’t believe Zillow? How about the National Association of Realtors: Home prices down 9 percent nationwide in the past year. How about the government’s Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight: Home Prices down 5.9 percent since last year. How about any real estate agent in the phone book??

Ok, I get it, all real estate is local, and a lot of folks simply believe that those national numbers don’t apply to their neighborhood. Yep, there’s some truth to that, there are some neighborhoods in some cities that are still strong. But not half the homes in the country!!! ...

Price a home correctly, even aggressively, in today’s market and it will sell, and that’s the road to recovery my friends, not listing your home for sale right in the heart of la la land.
If you can't sell your home, the price is too high.

2 comments:

  1. It isn't clear whether they were surveying homeowners or the population at large.

    If you are a renter, your perceptions may be based upon the amount of rent that you pay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just like Congress. People have a very low opinion of it, but tend to be happy with their own rep. They say, 'no, everything is fine here. It isn't us; it is all those other people who are screwing things up for us.

    ReplyDelete