Homeowners still view their homes as more valuable than the opinions of appraisers, but only by roughly 1 percent, according to the latest Quicken Loans National Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). That gap, the Index shows, is closing, as homeowner estimates and appraiser valuations edged more toward alignment in October than in September.
“This information can be helpful to homeowners to either prevent bumps in the mortgage process or realize they may have more equity available to them than they think,” says Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters.
The latest Quicken Loans Home Value Index (HVI), meanwhile, shows a slowdown in annual home value growth. Appraised values, according to the Index, rose 5.97 percent year-over-year in October, representing a decline from September.
A summary of the HPPI:
Appraised values in October were 1.15 percent lower than what homeowners estimated at the start of the mortgage process, when viewed nationally. In September, appraisal values were 1.26 percent lower than what owners expected. This is the fourth consecutive month the HPPI moved closer to equilibrium. Local trends stayed largely the same from the month prior, with appraisal values rising past homeowner estimates in the West and home values falling below homeowner expectations in the East and Midwest.
A summary of the HVI:
Average home values, as measured by appraisals, fell slightly in October, showing a 0.62 percent decline, according to the national HVI. This extended reductions seen in September, when appraised values dipped 0.28 percent. Despite monthly decreases, home values in October still showed strong growth of 5.97 percent as compared to October 2015. All regional areas measured by the HVI showed annual increases, ranging from 5.52 percent growth in the Northeast to an 8 percent rise in values in the West.
“The monthly dips in home values are likely a result of the cooling demand for housing during the autumn months,” says Walters. “Fluctuations in monthly numbers are expected. Attention should always be paid to the annual measures to ensure positive growth compared to the same season the previous year. The yearly measure in October continues to show strong growth and a positive outlook for housing.”
For more information, please visit QuickenLoans.com/Indices.
