Homeowners and appraisers are seeing more eye-to-eye when it comes to home values. Appraised values in February were, on average, just 0.53 percent below homeowner estimates—the fifth consecutive month where the gap between the two groups has been less than 1 percent, according to the National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index.
Still, more than three-quarters of metro areas had appraised values that were higher than owner estimates. Dallas owners may be the most upbeat; appraisals there were, on average, 2.72 percent higher than what owners expected. “The Home Price Perception Index is a perfect example of how localized housing is across the country,” says Bill Banfield, executive vice president of Quicken Loans Capital Markets. “The fact that appraisals are showing home values nearly 3 percent higher than expected in Dallas, but the average appraisal is lower than the owner estimates by almost 2 percent in Philadelphia, illustrates this to a tee. Dallas is an incredibly hot housing market right now, and appraisers are seeing just how fast home values are climbing. When shopping for a home—or even refinancing a current mortgage—consumers should always keep the changes in their local market in mind before estimating a home’s value.”
Source: Quicken Loans
