Average Appraisal Values Make Largest Monthly Jump in More Than Four Years, According to Quicken Loans Study

DETROIT, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The difference between homeowners' and appraisers' opinions of home values continued to widen in April, after a sizeable move in March. The average appraisal was 0.87% lower than what homeowners expected, according to Quicken Loans' National Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). This is compared to a 0.78% difference of opinion in March.

In keeping with the relatively narrow difference between opinions at a national level, homeowners in most metro areas didn't get a big surprise when their home was appraised. All but one of the metro areas measured had appraisals an average of 2% higher or lower than what homeowners estimated. Cleveland replaced Chicago at the bottom of the list, with appraised values an average of 1.95% lower than expected. Homeowners in Boston, on the other hand, had an average of 2.08% more equity than they realized in April.  

"The continued widening of the gap between homeowners' and appraisers' viewpoints is evidence of just how hard it can be to keep your finger on the pulse of local housing – especially at the onset of home selling season," said Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans Executive Vice President of Capital Markets. "I encourage homeowners to keep a close eye on the homes selling around them. This can help them to be more realistic when estimating the value of their home to refinance or sell."

America's average home appraisal values rose 1.95% from March to April, according to the Quicken Loans Home Value Index (HVI) – the only measure of home value change based solely on appraisal data. This is the largest monthly increase since January 2015. The annual gains were also substantial, rising 5.43% year-over-year. This is a jump from the previous month's growth, when home values rose 3.37% from March 2018 to March 2019.

Home values grew consistently in each of the regions measured, leading to the healthy national average. The Northeast was the lowest with a healthy 1.16 percent increase. The highest monthly growth was in the Midwest, with appraisal values rising 2.11% since March. The Midwest also led all annual growth with a 5.33% jump since the previous April. The West trailed the rest of the nation while still posting an impressive 3.87% year-over-year rise in home appreciation.

"Demand for housing is high this spring. The strong economy is leading more to look for a home, but the persistent low inventory keeps home values rising across the country," said Banfield. "These new, higher levels are helping homeowners who are selling or accessing their equity – but the higher prices can make buyers reevaluate their budgets before heading out to open houses."

*A positive value represents appraiser opinions that are higher than homeowner perceptions. A negative value represents appraiser opinions that are lower than homeowner perceptions.

*A positive value represents appraiser opinions that are higher than homeowner perceptions. A negative value represents appraiser opinions that are lower than homeowner perceptions.

*A positive value represents appraiser opinions that are higher than homeowner perceptions. A negative value represents appraiser opinions that are lower than homeowner perceptions.

About the HPPI & HVI

The Quicken Loans HPPI represents the difference between appraisers' and homeowners' opinions of home values. The index compares the estimate that the homeowner supplies on a refinance mortgage application to the appraisal that is performed later in the mortgage process. This is an unprecedented report that gives a never-before-seen analysis of how homeowners are viewing the housing market. The HPPI national composite is determined by analyzing appraisal and homeowner estimates throughout the entire country, including data points from both inside and outside the metro areas specifically called out in the above report.

The Quicken Loans HVI is the only view of home value trends based solely on appraisal data from home purchases and mortgage refinances. This produces a wide data set and is focused on appraisals, one of the most important pieces of information to the mortgage process.

The HPPI and HVI are released on the second Tuesday of every month. Both of the reports are created with Quicken Loans' propriety mortgage data from the 50-state lenders' mortgage activity across all 3,000+ counties. The indexes are examined nationally, in four geographic regions and the HPPI is reported for 27 major metropolitan areas. All indexes, along with downloadable tables and graphs can be found at QuickenLoans.com/Indexes.

About Quicken Loans

Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation's largest home mortgage lender. The company closed nearly half a trillion dollars of mortgage volume across all 50 states from 2013 through 2018. Quicken Loans moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010. Today, Quicken Loans and its Family of Companies employ more than 17,000 full-time team members in Detroit's urban core. The company generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Phoenix. Quicken Loans also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction for primary mortgage origination by J.D. Power for the past nine consecutive years, 2010 – 2018, and also ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers the past five consecutive years, 2014 – 2018.

Quicken Loans was once again named to FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2019 and has been included in the magazine's top 1/3rd of companies named to the list for the past 16 consecutive years. In addition, Essence Magazine named Quicken Loans "#1 Place to Work in the Country for African Americans."

For more information and company news visit QuickenLoans.com/press-room.

SOURCE Quicken Loans

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