A new national AP/AOL Real Estate poll reveals that 49% of Americans believe housing prices in their regions will rise in the next two years [MarketWatch] [1] which contradicts the research done by Economy.com last week which said that home prices will show price declines in certain markets over the several years.
Some of the key stats were:
- 56% of renters say they are at least somewhat likely to buy a home in the next two years
- The vast majority of recent homebuyers (88%) say the process of buying a home was a positive experience, with more than half (51%) rating their experience as “very positive”
- 62% of recent homebuyers used a professional real estate agent in their searches, and 71% of likely future homebuyers say they will use an agent when they start house hunting
- 71% of those who used the Internet or plan to use it for their home searches say they have taken a virtual tour of homes
- Quality of construction (87%) ranks as the #1 most important factor when buying or renting a home, followed by price (79%), quality of local schools (68%), possibility of appreciation in value (57%) and closet and storage space (54%)
On face value, the stats are pretty interesting, especially the rental stat which I found surprising. The very idea that half the country feels that prices will rise is also kind of shocking with all the negativity floating around right now.
The survey size seems pretty small but I am not an expert on surveys. The survey results seem very positive overall which is in contrast to conventional wisdom (but we all know how reliable that can be). Most of the questions seemed to focus on the experience of home buying and selling, and that was generally positive.
What about all that stress about a frenzied market a few years ago? Was is still fun despite the stress?