Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll shows several points of optimism in regard to the real estate market. In general, Americans continue to be more positive about the housing market than they have been in recent years. As a result, it is believed that home buying activity will increase and home values will continue to rise over the next year.
Specifically, 74 percent of those polled who already were homeowners said their home is now worth more than when they bought it, up from 63 percent last year. In addition, 56 percent of Americans now expect average home prices in their local area to increase, compared to 33 percent a mere two years ago and a low of 21 percent in January 2011. The poll also showed that more than five times as many Americans think local home values will increase rather than decrease.
In one of the most positive readings Gallup has seen when asking if it a good time to buy a house, an impressive 74 four percent of Americans agreed, with only 24 percent considering it a bad time to purchase a home.
