Some Americans appear to be out of touch with what’s really going on with their own home values. Only 49% of homeowners surveyed by real estate marketplace Zillow said the value of their home had fallen over the past 12 months. In actuality, 72% of U.S. homes lost value. Paying attention to your home’s value is important if you decide to get a reverse mortgage.

Reverse Mortgage Quotes

The amount of money you can get with a reverse mortgage depends upon your age and the value of your home. The older you are the more money you qualify to receive. If your housing value drops, you won’t qualify for as large a reverse loan.

You can shop for reverse mortgage loan deals here. Before you do that, however, it’s a good idea to take inventory of the local housing market to see where your home value stands. That can help avoid making inaccurate assumptions about what your home is worth and being surprised by a low reverse loan quote.

Perception vs. Reality for Home Values

The Zillow survey found that only 20% of Northeastern homeowners believed their homes had increased in value. The reality was that 31% of homes in the region rose in value. Juxtapose that with what occurred in the Western part of the country, where 28% of homeowners thought their homes had gained in value while only 17% actually did.

Homeowners Express Some Optimism

The Zillow report found that 41% of homeowners believe their home values are going to rise in the next six months. Also, 43% say their value is going to stay the same, while 17% believe their value will fall. If you’re among the more optimistic bunch, it may make sense to wait awhile before applying for a reverse mortgage to see if your local housing market really does begin to recover.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.