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As home prices continue to climb, real estate agents and homebuyers are maintaining a positive outlook for home values in 2013, a recent survey found.
[IMAGE]The survey, which was jointly released by ""Point2Homes"":http://www.point2homes.com/ and ""PropertyShark"":http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/, reported 71 percent of survey respondents predicted home prices will go up or maintain their current level in 2013.
The survey included nearly 1,500 real estate professionals and homebuyers who were questioned in December 2012 on topics such as prices, sales volume, and inventory, as well as factors that will drive the market.
[COLUMN_BREAK]The view that prices will either stabilize or go up was shared by 59 percent of agents and 37 percent of homebuyers.
As for sales volumes, 41 percent of respondents overall said sales should increase, with 52 percent of agents sharing this view and 41 percent of homeowners stating sales will go up.
When it came to inventory, respondents said they don't expect to see a change.
As for factors that will drive the market in 2013, 31 percent of respondents think that mortgage rates will have the biggest influence on the market. Access to loans placed second as an influential factor 2013 and foreclosures ranked third.
The survey also found Californians were more optimistic than New Yorkers when it comes to home prices.
Half, or 50 percent of California respondents, predicted prices will increase in 2013 compared to 44 percent of New York respondents.
On the topic of foreclosures, 21 percent of California respondents said foreclosures will influence the market in 2013, compared with only 9 percent of the respondents from New York. The survey noted the difference may be due to the higher foreclosure rate seen in California.
