60% of Homeowners Think Their Home's Value has Decreased in the Prior Year

We were fascinated by this Zillow survey done once per quarter, asking homeowners what their perceptions are of the housing market.

Shockingly (really), just 60% of homeowners believe that their home prices decreased in the prior year, when in actuality, 83% of homes declined in price duh. In fact, the Zillow blog notes that "For three quarters in a row, homeowners have effectively called a bottom, with the majority thinking their home's value will not decline any further." Oops....

It's amazing to us that homeowners are STILL not caught up on the reality of this market. Will the market come back one day? Yes, of course. Is it going to be next year? We personally don't think so and most analysts agree with us with consensus seeing another 10-15% nationwide drop in housing prices before we hit a bottom.

But then again, it's not like anybody is trying to sell a 6th floor walk-up for almost $900,000 here in Lower Manhattan, right? Oh...wait.