HomeGain, the first company to provide free instant home valuations online, announced the results of its 2012 Home Ownership Satisfaction Survey. Homeowners were asked whether they were satisfied with owning a home and whether price appreciation or depreciation was a factor. Over 1,400 home owners from across the nation were surveyed.

Overall, 72 percent of surveyed homeowners indicated that they were satisfied with owning a home and 28% said they were dissatisfied. When asked if price appreciation was the primary reason for their satisfaction, only 24 percent said yes. Seventy-six percent listed other reasons for being satisfied. The most popular responses were pride of ownership, and freedom to control what type of home improvements and upgrades go into their homes.

Sixty-three percent of homeowners who indicated they were unsatisfied with home ownership said that price depreciation was the primary reason. Of the 37 percent who listed other reasons for being unsatisfied, the most cited responses were the costs of home ownership, including property taxes, homeowner association fees, and maintenance and repairs.

“The HomeGain 2012 National Home Ownership Satisfaction survey shows in spite of declines in the values of homes nationwide, satisfaction among home owners remains high at 72 percent, with nearly 3 of 4 home owners satisfied with home ownership.” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain. “Of the 28 percent of surveyed homeowners who indicated they were unsatisfied, 63 percent cited price depreciation as the primary reason.”

On a regional basis, the highest percentage of homeowner satisfaction was in the Northeast, with a 77 percent satisfaction rate. The Southeast ranked second with 73 percent, followed by the West with 71 percent, and the Midwest with 68 percent.

The survey asked when homes were purchased, the purchase prices of the homes, the type of homes purchased (short sale, foreclosure, new or existing), and the age groups of the homeowners.

Overall, homeowners who purchased their homes between 3-8 years ago were the least satisfied. Homeowners who purchased their home within the last three years or more than 8 years ago, were the most satisfied.

Homeowners who paid less than $75,000 for their home were the most satisfied, with a 77 percent satisfaction rate. Homeowners who purchased a home for more than $800,000 were the least satisfied, with a 69 percent satisfaction rate.

Those purchasing foreclosed homes or homes in a short sale had the highest home ownership satisfaction rates at 79 percent and 83 percent, respectively. Those who purchased new or existing homes had lower satisfaction rates at 73 percent and 71 percent, respectively. Sixty-seven percent of homeowners who purchased a new home, and 64 percent of homeowners who purchased an existing home, indicated that price depreciation was the primary reason for being unsatisfied.

Homeowners ages 18-25 were the least satisfied with home ownership, with a 45 percent satisfaction rate. This is the only age group to have a satisfaction rate below 50 percent. Homeowners ages 55-65 were the most satisfied with home ownership, with a 76 percent satisfaction rate.

Question 1:

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Deciding to purchase a home can be an overwhelming experience for any potential home buyer. In addition to taking the time to scour through newspaper ads and online searches to find an ideal home, buyers also have to worry about securing adequate financing which isn’t always easy in today’s economy.

Conventional lenders are more strict than ever before when it comes to borrower eligibility. With most programs, applicants must have stellar credit scores and histories and are generally expected to have a down payment near 20 percent of the home’s sales price simply to secure financing. For a modest home purchase of $125,000 that means borrowers are expected to put down $25,000 out of pocket, not including other costs normally associated with purchasing a home.

For many interested home buyers, conventional lending options simply make home ownership either unaffordable or inaccessible to obtain. However, the USDA home loan program tends to alleviate the major costs associated with financing so that more people can have access to the dream of home ownership.

What is the USDA Home Loan?

The USDA home loan is a home financing option provided by the USDA’s Department of Rural Development that has been designed to make securing a mortgage easier for those interested in living in rural or outskirts areas. There are two types of home loans generally provided by the program, the Direct and the Guaranteed, and both are 100 percent backed by the government. By providing interested home buyers with a loan option that is backed by the government, borrowers are able to save out-of-pocket expenses through various benefits.

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Fifty-three percent of real estate professionals think home prices will decrease in the next six months.

Last month, HomeGain, the first company to provide free online instant home valuations, released the fourth quarter 2011 results of our nationwide survey of over 400 real estate professionals and 2,000 homeowners. Our survey asked their opinions on home values and what they thought of President Obama’s performance as President. On this blog we published the 4th quarter 2011 national results as well as the complete 4th quarter 2011 regional results, including commentary from real estate agents and brokers.

Recently, we released the California 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data and the Florida 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 Texas home prices survey data , the 4th quarter 2011 New York home prices survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 New Jersey home values survey data, the Illinois 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data, and the Arizona 4th quarter 2011 home prices survey data. In the coming days we will be releasing home values survey data from North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and other states.

Today we are releasing the Maryland home prices survey results.

Set forth below is the fourth quarter 2011 real estate professional and homeowner Maryland home prices survey data along with the third quarter 2011, the fourth quarter 2010 and the fourth quarter 2011 national home prices survey data. Click on each question to see complete results:

1. Have home prices increased, decreased or stayed the same in the last year?
2. On average, what do homeowners believe that their home is worth?
3. How do buyers feel that homes for sale are priced?
4. What is the average difference in price between what sellers believe their home to be worth and the amount at which the home gets listed?
5. What is the average difference in price between what a home is listed at and what a home sells for?
6. In the next six months, will the values of homes in your market increase, decrease or stay the same?
7. What percentage of homes for sale are foreclosures in your area?
8. What is the average home price in your area?
9. What percentage of your clients are first-time buyers?
10. How do you think Barack Obama is performing in his role as President?
11. If the Presidential election were today, who would you vote for?

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It’s a few hours early, but Happy New Year!

Where did 2011 go??

Best wishes in 2012!

Earlier this year, I got a call from a frustrated seller. He had just decided to fire his listing agent and had been referred to me.

“I don’t want to make the same mistake I made when I hired my first agent,” he said. “So, would you be willing to meet with me to see my condo, tell me what you think it’s worth and let me know how you would market it?”

Overpriced + Pre-sale Purchase 7 years ago = “Uh Oh”…

I agreed to meet him the following day because of the seasonal market’s time sensitivity and my desire to get the property on the market asap, if selected to work with him. I warned him that I wouldn’t have time to do a lot of research before our meeting. I pulled the listing history and tax records, and I didn’t like the math…nor the methods.

It Was A Crescendo Of Agent Ineptitude:

Perhaps the previous agent was “nostalgic” or simply “lost track of time”, but he decided to price the unit at it’s original (pre-sale) purchaser price, which went back to early 2006. Needless to say, by the time I came into the picture, it had been on the market for a while…you know the drill.

When Ineptitude Flirts With Negligence:

As was clear in the listing history (but I had hoped was a mistake), the listing “agent” initially “marketed” (terms used here extremely loosely) his property for almost $100k more than the owner had paid for it at the height of the market!! No upgrades, nor additions after the original purchase….I still can’t even begin to fathom where that number came from .

The sad truth was obvious. The seller lived in a penthouse unit in an area of the close-in DC suburbs where many condos were in short sale or foreclosure situations. And this development was no different.

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