Fewer real estate agents expect price drops

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – Sept. 19, 2011 – Most real estate professionals and homeowners expect home values to decrease or stay the same through the end of the year, according to HomeGain’s third quarter survey. While the outlook remains dour, however, a higher percentage of real estate agents seem to think their market area has hit bottom and is rebounding.

In Florida, one in five (22 percent) real estate professionals surveyed expect prices to rise over the next six months, as did 22 percent of homeowners. That’s second only to Arizona, where 33 percent of agents anticipate a price increase and 29 percent of homeowners.

Nationally, 11 percent of real estate professionals expect home values to increase in the next six months, down one percent from last quarter; 12 percent of homeowners expect home values to increase, down 3 percent from last quarter.

According to the survey, 47 percent of agents and brokers and 45 percent of homeowners think that home values will decrease over the next six months. However, agents’ attitudes have become slightly less pessimistic since the second quarter (50 percent expected price declines) even though homeowners have become more pessimistic (30 percent expected price declines).

An almost equal number of agents and homeowners expect selling prices to remain roughly the same for the next six months, with 42 percent of agents expecting the status quo to continue compared to 43 percent of homeowners.

According to agents and brokers, 75 percent of homeowners believe their homes are worth more than the agent’s recommended listing price. In contrast, 68 percent of homebuyers believe homes are overpriced.

The five states with a rising outlook about home prices – Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and Ohio – were generally hit hard by the real estate crisis and now may be bouncing back. The five top states where agents expect prices to decline include New Jersey (77 percent of agents expect a six-month price drop), Pennsylvania (75 percent), North Carolina (68 percent), Georgia (62 percent) and Virginia (58 percent).

Over 500 real estate agents and brokers and over 2,200 homeowners were surveyed.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®