More Owners Optimistic About Home Values

The number of home owners who fear the value of their homes will fall in the next year declined to 15 percent in January, the lowest level since early 2007, according to a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey published last week.

That’s a big improvement over the first quarter of 2009, when 26 percent expected the value of their homes to decline.

Home owners were less optimistic about gains in the value of their homes, with the average anticipated annual gain holding steady at 2.7 percent in January.

In January, 46 percent said the value of their homes decreased in the past year, while 14 percent said the value had increased.

Source: Reuters News, Julie Haviv (02/05/2010)