Most real estate professionals interviewed by real estate website HomeGain slightly prefer presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the upcoming election and expect home values to either stay the same or fall over the course of the next year.
HomeGain released the results of its fourth-quarter 2011 Home Values Survey, which is compiled from interviews with more than 400 real estate agents and brokers, as well as over 2,000 homeowners. Forty-three percent of agents and brokers and 48% of homeowners believe prices will stay the same, the report said.
Most real estate professionals interviewed by real estate website HomeGain slightly prefer presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the upcoming election and expect home values to either stay the same or fall over the course of the next year.
HomeGain released the results of its fourth-quarter 2011 Home Values Survey, which is compiled from interviews with more than 400 real estate agents and brokers, as well as over 2,000 homeowners. Forty-three percent of agents and brokers and 48% of homeowners believe prices will stay the same, the report said.
Meanwhile, 42% of real estate agents and brokers, as well as 37% of homeowners, think home values will sink in the coming six months.
Only 15% of real estate professionals and 15% of homeowners expect to see a gain in home prices during the same period.
While homeowners and agents in the space are in agreement for the most part about where prices are heading, they disagree over current home valuations.
“Home buyers and sellers, however, continue to remain apart on the idea of home valuations with the vast majority of homeowners thinking their homes are worth more than their agents and the market are telling them,” said Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.
The two groups surveyed also disagree on what presidential candidates are on the top of their lists.
Mitt Romney leads among real estate agents, capturing 34% of the vote. He is followed by Barack Obama, 32%; Hermain Cain, 16%; Ron Paul, 10%; and Rick Perry, 8%.
Among homeowners, Barack Obama leads with 41% of the vote, followed by Mitt Romney with 25%; Herman Cain with 16% of the vote; Ron Paul with 10% of the vote; and Rick Perry with 8% of the vote. Those vote results do not include data on every candidate. Michelle Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich also are running for the GOP nomination but were not surveyed.
Newt Gingrich currently leads in a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Republican primary voters, with 38% of the vote. He is followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who secured 17% of the vote.
As for the states where agents believe home prices will rise, the HomeGain survey says Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, California, Maryland, Washington and Ohio are on their list of places to see price gains in the next six months. Homeowners are more confident about gains in Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arizona, Michigan, New York, Tennessee, New Jersey, Texas and Florida.
Write to Kerri Panchuk.
