Press Call – Q3 2010 Home Prices Survey
Yesterday we held a live 30-minute call and webinar to discuss the results of the HomeGain 3rd Quarter 2010 Home Prices Survey. The call was attended by a few HomeGain folks, including myself, Ken Yee and General Manager Louis Cammarosano; real estate agents who completed the survey; and real estate reporters and bloggers.
Survey results have been referenced in multiple news sites including Reuters, Boston Globe, CNBC, Fox Business, AOL Real Estate, UPI, Baltimore Sun, Inman News, RIS Media, and more.
Highlights of the call:
The survey opens up by showing the disconnect between buyers and sellers (question 1). With homeowners continuing to think that their homes are worth more than their agents’ are recommending (more so than last quarter), it also reflects an unchanged disconnect between Realtors and sellers over the last year (question 2 and 3).
The results show that even though agents may be more realistic in current and future home prices (question 6), sellers are still reluctant to list their home according to the agent’s recommendation (question 4).
However, the end result of what the home sells for shows that sellers are having to bend to a lower selling price in the end in order to get their homes sold. (question 5) Real estate agent Concetta Pepenella commented: “Sellers are in all types of situations that are affecting their decisions. It depends on their motivation and time frame if they are willing to accept an offer for less than they had hoped for. Some sellers are getting out of a difficult mortgage payment because the household income has change due to job loss. Everyone has a different story. In the end they will be selling lower and buying lower.”