RISMEDIA, December 11, 2009—HomeGain, one of the first websites to provide free, instant home values, has announced the results of its fourth quarter Home Prices Survey of Realtors based on the responses of 928 U.S. real estate agents and brokers across the United States.
The fourth quarter survey shows that 72% of Realtors think home prices will either stay the same (48%) or increase (24%) in the next six months. HomeGain’s third quarter survey reported that 69% of Realtors thought home prices would stay the same (46%) or increase (23%) versus 47% of Realtors who thought home prices would stay the same (36%) or increase (11%) in the first quarter survey.
Twenty one percent of Realtors surveyed said more than half of their transactions in the past three months involved a first-time home buyer. Only 11% of Realtors surveyed said that none of their transactions involved a first-time homebuyer.
According to the fourth quarter survey, 41% of homeowners believe that their homes should be listed 10 to 20% higher than what their Realtors’ recommend, up from 38% of homeowners who believed so in the third quarter and 36% who believed so in the second quarter.
Seventy-six percent of home sellers believe that their homes are worth more than their Realtors’ recommended listing price, up from 74% in the third quarter survey and 71% in the second quarter survey.
Conversely, 62% of home buyers think that homes are overpriced, down from 64% in the third quarter and up from 59% of home buyers who thought homes were overpriced in the first quarter.
“The fourth quarter HomeGain Home Prices Survey of Realtors shows that Realtors believe that the first-time home buyer’s tax credit has driven sales and stabilized home prices, for now. Realtors, however, expressed concerns about the cost of the credit to tax payers and whether sales will continue once the credit expires later next year and additional inventory hits the market,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “The vast majority of Realtors expect prices to remain the same or increase in the first six months of 2010.”
For more information, visit www.homegain.com.
