Homeowners Need to "Revalue" Their Worth

Interesting news from Zillow Reports:

"SEATTLE, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Months of government bailouts and stock market volatility brought Americans' perception of the values of their own homes closer to reality than it was last quarter, but surprisingly half of U.S. homeowners still believe their home is insulated from the nation's home value declines, according to the Zillow Q3 Homeowner Confidence Survey(1)." See source for full survey details.

TO: HOMEOWNERS

Many need to wake up and smell the coffee. Visit any online consumer website and click the option "show me only foreclosed homes" in your neighborhood.

For one, "checkbox options" of show me "foreclosed-only" or "short-sale-only", was not even on these consumer websites as readily found today, as they were a year ago.

Point #2, many could then walk outside and throw a stone at the result list of their foreclosed home search, as these foreclosed homes are everywhere. When sold, these are comparable sales that cause the demise of home values in that 10 mile radius.

Case-in-point. I'm looking at closing on a good home investment with purchase price of $159.9K today (good condition). It had once sold 5 years ago for $355K. Home values have declined, likely bottomed out in many areas.

TO AGENTS:

Given these survey results, would you even spend a second of your time working with a potential seller who has these perceptions of homes not losing value, with their present value likely "upside-down" compared to their current mortgage? Is it worth the energy? I do not have the answer to that.

I do know the gett'ns are good on foreclosed homes. There is a bracket of the population looking to invest in these good deals and should be included in your online marketing plan.

In pockets of the Phoenix area in Arizona, qualified buyers are readily beaten out by investors who have cash in-hand. Agents need to reconnect with those investors or make connections, in California who were a contact back in 2006.

2nd home buyers still exist and are strong than ever due to the bottom-out pricing seen. I've witnessed those who used VA loan first current home, home remains strong in value, then using remaining bonus entitlement of their VA to buy a second home at pennies on the dollar. These buyers are out there.

I do believe that it's not easy maintaining a client base where the majority (or even some) are traditional sellers who are not informed...not with these expectations that consumers have as reported by Zillow.