What do home buyers think of the current real estate market?

Based on our research, today’s buyers remain bearish on prices, with 61% anticipating declines over the next six months, while wild differences exist among ZipRealty’s markets:

• 82% of buyers in Los Angeles think prices will decline
• 24% of buyers in Charlotte think prices will decline

Interestingly, buyers and sellers are almost exactly in sync in terms of how long they think the decline will last: 42% of each group thinks it will last 12 months or less, while 43% of buyers and 42% of sellers think the decline will last 1-2 years.

About our survey

These findings were collected in March as part of our quarterly market perception survey. This quarter’s survey, sent to prospective buyers who registered on our site in January and February generated 4570 responses. The answers in the table above were based on the question “what do you think will happen with home prices in your local real estate market over the next 6 months?”.

Stay tuned for insights into what today’s buyers are looking for in a home – information that should be particularly useful to the sellers out there!