Appraiser opinions regarding home value continued to underwhelm homeowners’ expectations in February, coming in 1.69 percent lower, according to the latest Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). The gap has now widened three months in a row.
The latest Quicken Loans National Home Value Index (HVI) shows appraised values rose 2.95 percent year-over-year in February.
“Low levels of home inventory persists as the main driver of home value growth,” says Bill Banfield, vice president of Capital Markets at Quicken Loans. “There are still plenty of interested buyers vying for a slim amount of homes for sale, pushing prices higher. Home values are likely to move higher in the Midwest as the spring buying season approaches, unless the number of homes available increases.”
A summary of the HPPI:
Appraisal values continue to fall below homeowner estimates nationally, and in just less than half of the 27 metro areas examined. The National HPPI shows homeowners’ estimated values were an average of 1.69 percent higher than appraisers’ home value opinions in February. While this national average continues to show lower values than homeowner estimates, there are still metro areas showing appraiser opinions that are higher than what homeowners expected. Many of these are Western cities with rapid home appreciation, including Denver, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A summary of the HVI:
The National HVI showed the country’s appraisal values rose an average of 0.55 percent from January to February. In addition to this modest increase, home values reached a level 2.95 percent higher than February 2016. This trend was reflected in regional values, with the West leading the way by posting a 4.45 percent year-over-year increase. The Midwest again trailed the rest of the country with an annual increase of just 0.47 percent.
“Quicken Loans is in a unique position, with access to two valuable data points,” Banfield says. “Homeowners tell us what they think their home is worth at the beginning of the mortgage process, then we compare that with the appraiser’s opinion of value. We hope consumers will take advantage of this information—seeing how their neighbors are perceiving their housing market—so they can better understand their own home’s value.”Â
For more information, please visit QuickenLoans.com/Indexes.
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