Everyone’s house is worth less…except mine

This is one of those things that make you go hmm…. But, hey, this is what people really think.

The housing downturn has been under way for a while now, so it’s hard to believe that many homeowners could still think their homes are appreciating these days.

Yet a recent survey from Zillow.com found that 62% of homeowners believe their home’s value has increased or stayed the same in the past year. They can’t all be right: According to Zillow, 77% of homes in the United States actually declined in value during the same time.

“Our survey reveals a wide gap between the perception homeowners have about their own home’s value and the realities of a market in which three-quarters of homes declined in value in the past year,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow vice president of data and analytics, in a statement. “We attribute this gap to a combination of inattention and a fair bit of denial that causes people to believe their home is insulated from the woes of the market that affect others, but not them.”

In the survey of 1,361 homeowners, three out of four expect their home value will increase or stay the same in the next six months, yet 42% expect values in their neighborhood to drop. Four out of five homeowners expect the amount of foreclosures will increase or stay the same in the next six months, compared with the last six months.
–MarketWatch, 8 Aug 2008