Confidence low among Western homeowners

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Zillow released its first quarter Homeowner Confidence Survey this week, which found that while homeowner confidence rose nationally, Western homeowners – including those in Colorado – remain pessimistic about home values despite stabilization in many Western markets.

Additionally, a potential 5 million  ‘sidelined sellers’ who have sat out the recessionary real estate market so far are very likely to put their home on the market with signs of a turnaround. That, in turn, could force home values to hover near the bottom for an extended period of time, Zillow researchers reported.

Among the survey’s highlights:

• Seven percent of homeowners (which translates to 5.3 million sidelined sellers) are “very likely” to put their home on the market in the next 12 months if they see signs of the housing market improving.
• Only half of homeowners believe their own home’s value declined in the past year. In reality, 65 percent of U.S. homes declined in value, according to Zillow’s Q1 Real Estate Market Reports.
• National homeowner confidence is up overall, but regional results vary substantially, with Westerners overly pessimistic about home values, while Southerners are overly optimistic.