$5.4 Trillion in Home Equity Separates U.S. Housing Optimists & Pessimists

A bull and bear are playing dice.

The latest edition of the Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey was published this morning. A panel of more than 100 experts has updated their expectations for national home price growth rates through 2021. According to widely cited price indices, nominal home values have already eclipsed (or are close to surpassing) their pre-crash peak levels. And…

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Millennials, Californians High on Housing

A pair of sunglasses on the beach at sunset.

The latest Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) reveals that homeowner expectations are higher than they were two years ago in the majority of metro areas tracked, and nowhere are they higher now than in The Golden State. The ZHCI homeowner expectations sub-indexes for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose are now 77.5, 77.3, and…

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U.S. Housing Confidence Proving Resilient

A single flower is growing in the middle of cracked earth.

An index derived from the January 2016 edition of The U.S. Housing Confidence Survey shows that confidence in the residential real estate market is proving resilient, even as investor confidence, business confidence, and consumer economic sentiment have wavered amidst turbulent financial markets and unsettling election-year politics. The latest Zillow Housing Confidence Index — which summarizes the survey…

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The Housing High (and Comedown?) in Denver

A city skyline with buildings and trees in the foreground.

Data from the July edition of the U.S. Housing Confidence Survey of 10,000 households (HCS) and the Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) highlighted the recent smoking-hot conditions in the Denver housing market. For example,  at 77.9, the Housing Market Conditions Index (a ZHCI component) for Denver was at the highest level of all cities tracked…

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Lower Expectations Dent Housing Confidence

A street sign that says bump in the middle of the road.

According to the vast majority of 10,000 heads of household who participated in the latest U.S. Housing Confidence Survey conducted by Pulsenomics, prevailing real estate market conditions are healthy, and in most major metropolitan areas, have continued to improve. However, expectations concerning the housing market–while still positive–have reversed course since the start of the year,…

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Great (and Quite Variable) Expectations

A gold background with the words great expectations

“I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” – Charles Dickens, from Great Expectations The U.S. Housing Confidence Survey (HCS) includes several questions regarding expectations for future home values within the local market where each head of household respondent resides. We ask the questions and carefully monitor the…

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Consumer Confidence in Housing is Building

A green sign that says " welcome to optimism."

As reported last week, The Zillow® U.S. Composite Housing Confidence Indexâ„¢ (ZHCI) rose to 67.4 in January, an increase of 3.2 points from its level six months earlier and up 3.6 points year-over-year, indicating continued growth in positive housing sentiment within local real estate markets across the country. Analysis of the indicator indices underlying the…

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Open House Mayhem: Will it Last?

A man with chains around his neck and holding onto an orange object.

Perhaps there are glimmers of hope for anxious would-be home buyers frustrated by the dearth of existing inventory in many real estate markets (consider this CNBC report today). The January 2015 U.S. Housing Confidence Survey (HCS)–the same survey cited in the CNBC report, and from which The Zillow Housing Confidence Index is derived–reveals that, in…

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Housing Hurdles

A picture of houses with lines drawn all over them.

Pulsenomics asked members of its expert real estate panel to indicate and rank factors that they consider to be significant impediments in the near- to intermediate-term to a more uniform and sustainable U.S. housing market recovery. Here’s the breakdown of the responses: We also asked the panelists which factor they consider to be the most…

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Is Owning a Home Necessary to Live The American Dream?

A red white and blue poster with the words " american dream ".

The majority of households say “yes”, according to the latest U.S. Housing Confidence Survey. However, responses vary considerably by metro area as well as tenure type (i.e., homeowners vs. renters). “Some say that owning a home is necessary to live The Good Life and The American Dream. Do you agree? Or disagree?” (% of Households…

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