Skip to content

Seattle Bubble

local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Reference
  • Speaking
Menu

Zillow: Homeowners in the West “Continue to be Overly Optimistic”

Posted on November 18, 2009 by The Tim

Zillow’s latest “Homeowner Confidence” survey came out yesterday, and as usual, provides an interesting look into the psychology of the market.

…in the hardest-hit region of the country, the Western states, homeowners continued to be overly optimistic when evaluating the value of their own homes.

Nationwide, when asked about their own home’s value over the past year:

  • 25% think their home’s value has increased
  • 26% think their home’s value has stayed the same
  • 49% think their home’s value has decreased

In reality, 72 percent of U.S. homes lost value over the past year, and 22 percent of homes increased in value.

Drilling down into the more detailed release (pdf), you can see that out here in the west, homeowners still seem to be the most overly optimistic bunch in the country.

Zillow Misperception Index

53% of homeowners in the west believe their home has declined in value in the last year, while 28% believe their homes have increased in value. In reality (according to Zillow), 78% of homes have declined in value, and only 17% have increased.

Meanwhile, only 15% of homeowners in the west expect their home’s value to decrease during the next six months, which is not too surprising given that nearly half the people surveyed base their belief in a housing market bottom on “general good news about the economy.”

With the stock market continuing to surge (quite likely due to a growing dollar carry trade) and the mainstream press giddily pumping an alleged recovery while all but completely ignoring the fact that none of the underlying poisons in the economy have been addressed (and in fact many of the problems have been amplified), of course most people would believe that housing has bottomed.

Share:

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Continue Reading

Next Post:
Can the NWMLS Control Online Conversations About Listings?
Previous Post:
It’s a Great Time to Rent

Tim’s Other Projects

Dispatches from the Multiverse

Tip Jar

Like what we're doing?

Drop us a tip!

Accounts

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
©2025 Seattle Bubble | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Reference
  • Speaking