Quicken: Owner Perception of Home Values Stay Steady in August

Quicken Loans, Detroit, said its National Home Price Perception Index showed perceptions between appraised values and homeowner estimates remained close and held steady in August.

The Index reported appraised values came in 0.28% lower than homeowners estimated in August. This is the same level as July, but Quicken noted appraisers’ and owners’ opinions are much closer together than a year ago when homeowner estimates were 1.35 percent lower than appraiser opinions.

Quicken reported while perceptions were unchanged, home values across the country rose as the summer came to an end. The National Quicken Loans Home Value Index showed appraisal values increased by 1.08 percent since July and jumped by 5.79 percent from a year ago.

Bill Banfield, Executive Vice President of Capital Markets with Quicken Loans, said while convergence between appraisers and homeowners appeared more harmonized, at the metro level, it was more likely that an appraisal will be higher than expected. Homeowners in Boston, for example, are seeing appraisals an average of 2.88 percent higher than expected. On the other side of the spectrum, the average homeowner in Chicago is overestimating their appraisal value by 1.74 percent.

“The variance in the HPPI across the country perfectly illustrates just how localized the real estate market is and how different it can be from one city to the next,” Banfield said.

The Home Value Index, which measures home value change by appraisal data, shows a 1.08 percent monthly increase in home values, when viewed nationally, with a 5.79 percent year-over-year jump in appraisal values. All regions measured also showed growth, with the strongest in the West, which saw an 8.01 percent rise in home values in August. The weakest growth was in the Northeast, which saw a 3.78 percent increase.

“With the summer winding down, there were less ‘for sale’ signs on lawns across America which left the buyers competing over these available houses and driving the prices up,” Banfield said. “We are all watching closely to see when more homes will be put up for sale, balancing the markets, because the demand for housing isn’t slowing down.”