70 percent of NY brokers believe home prices are dropping, survey finds

Real estate professionals and homeowners alike have taken a pessimistic turn in their views about the U.S. housing market, according to a third-quarter survey from home price tracking website HomeGain.com. The survey, which polled roughly 1,100 real estate professionals and 2,600 homeowners, revealed that 90 percent of real estate agents and brokers now believe home prices will either remain flat or experience a dip over the next six months.

Amongst agents and brokers, 48 percent believe home prices are going to decline over the next six months, up from 33 percent during HomeGain’s second-quarter survey. New York agents had a particularly negative outlook, with 70 percent responding that home prices were likely to drop.

Homeowners, overall, were more positive, with 33 percent expecting a decrease, up from 23 percent in the second quarter. But in Florida, where values have been hit hardest by the real estate bust, 81 percent of homeowners thought prices were about to decrease.

Nationwide, only 18 percent of homeowners said they believe prices would go up in the next half-year.

Still, when it comes to their own properties, the vast majority of homeowners are slow to let go of value. A full 79 percent believe their homes are worth more than what professional agents recommended as a listing price, up from 77 percent in the second quarter. And on the flip side, 69 percent of agents and brokers said their clients believe that homes for sale are overpriced, up from 61 percent in the second quarter. TRD