Apr 29 2008 8:11AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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A recent survey from AOL/Zogby explores many parts of housing and has some bad news for the housing industry. 
 
Here are some notable results. I find the first three to be the most worrisome:

• 56 percent think home ownership is attainable for most people
• Only 56 percent think their home will be worth more or the same in five years (that's right -- 44 percent think it will be worth less)
• 50 percent of current homeowners would buy another house if they sold today (this is downright scary) 
• 31 percent think they're home is worth more than it was a year ago (they're probably delusional, but it is an opportunity for remodelers)
• 69 percent think making home improvements will increase the value of their home (this is a nice number, but I've got to imagine it was higher only two years ago)
• 16 percent are planning a major remodel this year (again, I'd like to see a higher number here)

To me, this is mostly bad news. In an odd twist, AOL is spinning this as if it were good news. It's like reading something from a Realtor who's trying to get you to buy a house. (Which I suppose they are, in a way. The site's main purpose is to host real estate listings.) It's almost comical as they try to twist the results into a positive. You can link to the various sections of the survey from this site.