Are Home Sellers Overvaluing Their Homes?

Homeowners tend to get attached to their homes. That’s natural, especially if you’ve lived somewhere for a while. Feelings of comfort, safety, and familiarity grow over the years and, in time, the house you bought becomes a home. But while you may love it, that doesn’t mean you’ll get top dollar for it when it comes time to sell – especially in a housing market that’s slowed considerably over the past few years. Simply put, today’s home sellers may be overconfident. The results of a recent survey seem to confirm it. The survey found 72 percent of Americans who plan to sell in the next year say they think they’ll receive offers over their asking price. Similarly, 92 percent say their home will generate strong interest from buyers and 77 percent are confident they won’t have to lower their price. But while large majorities of future sellers are confident in their homes’ value, recent sellers tell a different story. In fact, just 42 percent say they got an offer over their asking price and 43 percent said they had to lower their price.