Owners still upbeat about homes’ value

Slumping sales and drooping prices haven’t diminished homeowner optimism about their own nest egg’s value, a recent survey shows.

The survey by Boston Consulting Group showed that 55% of Americans believed they could sell their house for more now than a year ago, down slightly from the 59% who felt that way last summer.

Nearly three-quarters think they could sell their homes within the next six months at a price they set, and 63% believe that real estate is a good or excellent investment.

The positive sentiment comes in spite of housing data that show a downturn in real estate. Last month, the National Assn. of Realtors said sales of existing homes dropped by 2.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units, the slowest sales pace in nearly four years.

The median price of a home fell to $220,900, an 0.8 % decline from the median price a year ago. The trade group is expected to report May figures for existing-home sales Monday.

“Americans believe their homes are still their best investment. They’re positive about their homes’ value and believe in a bounce-back in residential real estate, overall,” said Michael J. Silverstein, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.

“Talk of declining average values of homes is not forcing a cutback in spending. It’s just not translated into the American psyche,” Silverstein said.

Instead, the survey showed that 69% of homeowners said they were likely to make renovations or improvements to their homes in the next year, and more than two-thirds said the current housing market had no effect on their spending.

However, most Americans aren’t planning to buy a new home anytime soon. Only 27% said they were likely to purchase a house in the next five years.

Boston Consulting polled 1,007 adult Americans in a telephone survey from May 31 to June 3. The survey has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.