Zillow: Homeowners' Confidence Unrealistic

U.S. homeowners' confidence about the value of their homes remained unrealistically high in the second quarter, as 62% said they believed the value had increased or held steady over the previous year, according to a recent Zillow survey. Zillow.com, an online real estate community based in Seattle, said the reality is that 77% of U.S. homes had declined in value over the previous year. "Our survey reveals a wide gap between the perception homeowners have about their own home's value and the realities of a market in which three-quarters of homes declined in value in the past year," said Stan Humphries, vice president of data and analytics at Zillow.com. "We attribute this gap to a combination of inattention and a fair bit of denial that causes people to believe their home is insulated from the woes of the market that affect others, but not them." The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive. Zillow can be found online at http://www.zillow.com.