Must Read new report from Zillow for ALL HREU Realtor Coaching Students…

Again, Zillow hits it out of the park.

Big hats off to Zillow for producing this information.

There is no doubt that Zillow does the best job producing housing reports that are useful for Realtors. Every agent should have this information at the ready.

The Q3 Survey, fielded October 7-9, 2008 (the worst week in stock market history, by the way), asked homeowners their perception of their home’s value over the past year, and what they think will happen to their home’s value in the coming months.

The results are kind of baffling. While the perception gap did narrow, still half of U.S. homeowners do not think their home’s value has declined over the past year. Specifically:

* 32% think their home’s value increased in the past 12 months
* 17% think their home’s value held steady
* 51% think their home’s value declined

In reality, three-quarters (74%) of U.S. homes lost value in the past 12 months, according to Zillow’s Q3 data.

As long as sellers are on denial about the value of their homes…inventory will continue to build, values will continue to plummet, the rate of foreclosures will rise….and the housing crash will last for years and year. Realtors, give this information to all of your sellers. Remember, you are the only true “Hope For Homeowners”….help your real estate market one seller at a time.

The following chart breaks down responses by region, and you can see that homeowners in different areas of the country hold a more (or less) realistic view. In the West, where the most homes are losing value (85% of homes in the West declined over the past year), homeowners are more realistic — with 65% of homeowners saying the value of their own homes has declined. In the Northeast, the perception gap is widest.

Meanwhile, optimism continues into the future for a good chunk of homeowners:

* 21% believe their home’s value will increase in the coming 6 months
* 40% believe their home’s value will stay the same
* 40% believe their home’s value will decrease

(Click graphic to see larger view)

What does all of this mean for Realtors?

You better sharpen your pricing skills and get used to telling home owners things they don’t want to hear. Lets be clear, being a Realtor is an honor. You are being trusted to help someone with one of the most significant decisions of their lives. Be 100% honest with your sellers…100% of the time. The only way out of this epic real estate mess is fellow Realtors accepting the fact that we are the only true solution. Its up to us to work with our sellers…one seller at a time…to understand the reality of this market.

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