Survey: More homeowners now think property value has fallen

The Dallas Morning News (MCT) - For years, Americans held tight to the notion that a house was the best investment.

But now, almost 60 percent of U.S. homeowners admit that their property has lost value during the last year.

A year ago, less than 40 percent of American homeowners thought their properties had declined in value, according to a new survey by online real estate firm Zillow Inc.

"It's clear that the 'not my house' sentiment that was so prevalent in earlier surveys is waning, and homeowners are opening their eyes to the unfortunate reality of significant losses in home values across most of the country," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics.

In truth, the decline in housing values has been even more widespread. Zillow estimates that more than three-fourths of U.S. residences declined in value in 2008.

Despite the drops in home prices in most U.S. markets, more than two-thirds of homeowners now predict that the worst is over, according to Zillow's fourth-quarter poll.

"Unfortunately, the data tells another story," Humphries said. "With year-over-year home value losses continuing to accelerate, most areas of the country will see housing values get worse before they begin to stabilize."

Zillow hired Harris Interactive to survey more than 2,200 homeowners across the country in early January for the report.

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© 2009, The Dallas Morning News.