Are Atlantans too bullish on property values amid healthy market?

Atlantans who’ve recently sold homes and condos know there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with a lunkhead appraiser who can’t see their property for the shining diamond that it is.

Or maybe—once comps in the neighborhood and other facts are considered—the seller is really the disillusioned lunkhead.

A study by Quicken Loans called the National Home Price Perception Index suggests that, across the country, the gap between what homeowners estimate their values to be and appraiser opinions has widened to about 1.5 percent in recent months.

Even relatively humble Atlanta isn’t immune. But the good news locally is that the difference between seller and appraiser valuations is pretty slight, suggesting Atlantans (unlike some East Coast brethren) have a good grasp on the market.

As Atlanta Agent Magazine points out, Atlanta homeowners determined home values to be $192,000 on average. That’s just $1,400 above what local appraisers thought of the same properties, so appraisals likely weren’t too crushing. Still, comparatively speaking, home sellers in Denver, Portland, and Dallas were in for pleasant surprises.

Here’s a look the HPPI’s broader findings, which appear to tabulate metro Atlanta:

Quicken Loans

At least Atlantans are consistent in their overvaluing of what they own—and not nearly as delusional as Philadelphians—as the below chart suggests:

Quicken Loans

• Atlantans are overvaluing their homes [AAM]
• Quicken Loans Study Shows Home Appraisal Value Lags Owner Estimates by a Wider Spread for Second Consecutive Month [Quicken Loans]