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."
Homeowners Remain Wary About Short-Term Housing Recovery, Confident About Long-Term Market Values
Friday, February 11, 2011
Homeowners continue to show little hope for the value of their house in the short-term, but remain fairly optimistic about long-term recovery.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 21% of Adults who own a house say the value of their home will go up in the next year. Twenty-five percent (25%) expect their home value to go down, while a majority (52%) says it will remain about the same. (To see survey question wording, click here .)
Since early December 2008 , short-term optimism in the housing market has ranged from a low of 15% to a high of 31%, reached in April of last year.
When asked about five years, however, 51% of homeowners say the value of their house will go up in that time. Fifteen percent (15%) say it will go down, and another 26% feel their home value will stay about the same in five years.
A majority of homeowners have been optimistic about long-term improvement for a couple years now. But in December 2008 , 59% of homeowners said the price of their house was likely to go up, the highest level ever measured on this question.
The survey of 730 Homeowners was conducted on February 5-6, 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 .
Investors remain more confident than consumers about home values in the short and long-term.
Homeowners of all income ranges show little confidence in their home value increasing in a year's time. But those making $20,000 or less annually are much less optimistic than homeowners of higher incomes about their home values increasing in five years.
The number of all homeowners who say their homes are worth more than what they still owe on their mortgage has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years .
Earlier this month, 51% of Adult homeowners said their home was worth more money today than it was when they bought it. But that's down 29 points from 80% in June 2008 . Twenty-six percent (26%) said their home was worth less now than when they bought it.
Separate polling finds that only 26% of all Americans think the government should be primarily concerned with making it possible for more people to own a home as opposed to making sure that the only people who can get mortgages are those who can afford them. Sixty-three percent (63%) disagree and say the government's primary concern should be limiting mortgages to those who can pay them back.
Congressional Republicans are likely to take a closer look at government-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they continue to consume billions of taxpayer dollars to cover bad loans. While many Americans have benefited from Fannie and Freddie loans, a majority don't hold high opinions of either one.