In a nationwide survey of U.S. homeowners, more than half of respondents ranked declines in housing market value (58 percent) as the biggest risks to their homes, above fire (15 percent), tornado (9 percent) and hurricanes (8 percent), Koski Research reported.
Among the findings:
- 52 percent of respondents viewed owning a home today as the American Dream, while 48 percent viewed it as the American Nightmare.
- More than half of U.S. homeowners (56 percent) reported that they monitor home prices in their areas, and those homeowners are twice as likely to monitor home prices (39 percent) as to monitor their cholesterol (19 percent).
- 62 percent consider their homes as their biggest investments. Reflecting their concerns about the real estate market, 37 percent said that buying a home today is generally a risky investment.
Homeowners are not optimistic that home values will increase any time soon. The survey found that 67 percent believe home values have declined in their community in the past 3 years, and that home values will go down (19 percent) or won’t change (67 percent) in the next 12 months.
