These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
39% Now Expect Improved Home Values in Five Years
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Both short and long-term confidence in the U.S. housing market continue to fall, with homeowners now expressing the highest level of pessimism in two years.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 15% of homeowners expect the value of their home to go up in the next year while 33% expect the opposite and think the value of their home will decline. (To see survey question wording, click here .)
The current figures reflect more pessimism than a month ago when 19% were optimistic and 30% pessimistic about the value of their home over the next year.
Looking longer term, only 39% of homeowners now think that the value of their home will go up over the next five years. That's down five points from last month and the lowest level of confidence measured by Rasmussen Reports. In April 2009, 55% expected their house's value to rise in five year's time.
Currently, 18% say the value of their home will go down over the next five years and 37% expect little change.
The survey of 709 Homeowners was conducted on April 14-15, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology.
Neither men nor women express much confidence in the short-term housing market. But 45% of men expect the value of their homes to go up over the next five years, a view shared by just 33% of women.
Investors are much more confident than non-investors when it comes to housing values in both one year's and five years' time.
Higher-income homeowners continue to express more short- and long-term confidence than those who earn less.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of all Americans believe interest rates will be a higher in a year's time , a finding that has stayed in the mid-to high 50s since July 2009. In April of that year, just 34% expected interest rates to go up.
Only 30% of Americans are even somewhat confident in the Federal Reserve Board's ability to keep inflation under control and interest rates down . Confidence in the Federal Reserve is down from 41% in January. This number was in the high 30s for all of 2010.
Confidence in the stability of the U.S. banking system is up a bit this month but still remains at discouraging levels.
Consumer confidence reached a two-year high on January 7 this year but has been declining ever since.