It's not just home sales numbers that are looking up for the housing market. Both would-be homebuyers and sellers are feeling a little more confident about their prospects going into the spring buying season this year, according to some recent industry surveys.
About 60 percent of people surveyed in February reported having positive views about the housing market and 70 percent said they expected home values to recover a bit over the next couple of years, according to a Prudential Real Estate survey released Tuesday, first reported by Bloomberg.
Just under two-thirds of people said real estate was a good investment, up from just over half of respondents last year, the real estate firm reported.
Is that a sign housing is headed out of its long slump? Possibly. According to Bloomberg, this is the second year in a row confidence in the housing market has improved.
There's another side to the equation: sellers. Many Americans who put their house on the market have been hesitant or unable to price their homes competitively according to recent market trends.
But that could be changing. A recent Coldwell Banker survey found that sellers are finally facing the realities of the housing market. More than half of real estate agents surveyed said sellers have wised up to the new normal in real estate and are more willing to price homes competitively.
Still others have decided to put the extra effort in and make their homes more attractive to prospective buyers, the survey found.
But the renewed optimism about housing doesn't mean Americans are jumping in with both feet. More than 90 percent of respondents to the Prudential survey said the nation's housing market meltdown has made them a bit more wary about buying and selling real estate.
mhandley@usnews.com
Twitter: @mmhandley
Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
Rick Reed of MD 7:17AM March 19, 2012
loveyou of AL 10:42PM March 13, 2012