Appraisers and homeowners now see eye-to-eye

Experts say that the gap between appraisers’ and homeowners’ estimations of their homes’ worth is getting smaller.

The two parties perceptions of value is getting closer, though homeowners still do tend to slightly overestimate the price of their home. However, they do so by much less than they did one year ago.

These statistics come from the most recent National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index, which found that home appraisals were 0.5 percent lower than homeowners expectations. However, the gap seems to be closing, as most homeowners were overestimating the value of their home by as much as 1 percent last year.

“Appraisers and real estate professionals evaluate their local housing markets daily,” says Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans executive vice president of Capital Markets.

“Homeowners, on the other hand, may only think about their housing market when they see For Sale signs hit front yards in the spring or when they think about accessing their equity. This is reflected in the [index]. The housing markets that are rising quickly, like those in the West, are having appraisal values increasing above owner estimates because owners don’t realize just how quickly those markets are advancing.”