UK homeowners struggle to accept house price reality

- Wide gap emerging between perceived values and market prices -

A house, like almost anything else is worth what someone is willing to pay for it but just try telling that to most UK homeowners! According to research released today, 91 per cent of homeowners think that their house is worth on average 8.7% more than they themselves accept that they could sell it for in today's market.

The extent of the gap between perception and reality, with the vast majority of homeowners having over-inflated value estimates of their homes, was uncovered in a survey of over 1,000 homeowners conducted by Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's leading house prices website, which provides free, current value estimates for every UK home. "The results clearly show that homeowners recognise a fall in values but think that it is affecting all the properties around them, just not their own home" says Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk.

Over half of those surveyed (58 per cent) accept they would need to drop their value expectations by up to ten per cent to achieve a sale today, whilst a third (33 per cent) admit that they would need to reduce their expectations by over 10 per cent.

Homeowners in Northern Ireland appear to show the widest gap between perception and reality, noting that they would have to accept on average 12.8 per cent less than they think their homes are worth to make a sale, whilst the Scots have the most realistic idea of value with perceived values only 7 per cent higher than what they think buyers might pay.

With such a reality gap in the market, many homeowners are putting off plans to sell and either looking to re-mortgage or make home improvements in the coming year. Despite the mortgage crisis, 15 per cent of homeowners reported that they are planning to re-finance over the next 12 months in a bid to ease their financial pressures, whilst a further 70 per cent of homeowners said they were planning some form of home improvement in the next year to escape further value drops in the coming months.

Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, commented:

"It appears that UK homeowners are having a tough time accepting the market realities. On the one hand, they appear to understand the sort of price drops that they would have to accept if they needed to sell their homes but on the other, they have not yet adjusted what they feel their homes are worth to these values. The best gauge of the value of a home today is what a rational buyer would pay, not what an unrealistic seller might accept. For those faced with making decisions in this market - either buying, selling or simply curious - Zoopla.co.uk is the ultimate tool, providing free instant value estimates on any UK home, along with local market information and value trends".

- Ends -

For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.

Notes to Editor

• Research carried out by Fly Research amongst over 1,000 UK homeowners for Zoopla.co.uk in October 2008

Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.

We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.

Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.

Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.

And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.

But we know you're looking for more than that.

Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.

It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.

That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.

And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.

We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).

What really matters is how it makes you feel.

We know what a home is really worth.

So let us help you find yours.

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