Homeowners are almost seeing eye-to-eye with appraisers as appraisal values grow
The gap between homeowner home value perceptions and appraisal values continued to improve in March, according to the National Home Price Perception Index released by Quicken Loans.
The index found that appraisals during the month were an average of 0.36% lower than what homeowners estimated. Quicken Loans said this shows an improvement from February when appraised values were 0.53% lower than homeowner expectations.
"This month's HPPI is great news for homeowners who may be thinking of selling their home, or using some of their equity," said Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans executive vice president of capital markets. "Not only are owners' and appraisers' views of the housing market getting closer together when looking at the nation as a whole, but homeowners in many major areas are building equity at a rapid pace."
Quicken Loans also found that more than 80% of metro areas covered by the index showed appraisals at, or higher than, homeowner estimates.
Over the same period, Quicken Loans found that home equity continued climbing. The Home Value Index, which is based solely on appraisal data, showed home values increase an average of 1.84% nationally. Every region followed the trend of increased appraisal values, ranging from the Northeast showing 5.53% home value growth, to the West reporting a 9.99% jump in appraisal values.
"A monthly increase in home values, after a stable report last month, shows that demand for the few available homes for sale ramped up in March," Banfield said. "The true test will be whether more homeowners decide to take advantage of these their higher home value and provide some much-needed inventory for buyers."
