More Real Estate Agents, Brokers Prefer Romney: Survey

Some 66 percent of real estate agents and brokers disapprove of President ""Barack Obama's"":http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama performance, with many preferring GOP presidential forerunner and former Massachusetts Gov. ""Mitt Romney"":http://www.mittromney.com/ in the coming election, according to home valuations company ""HomeGain"":http://www.homegain.com/.

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The company released results from a second-quarter survey Monday that polled 400 real estate agents and more than 1,700 homeowners.

Fifty-three percent of agents and brokers signaled a strong disapproval for the president, while 13 ""somewhat disapproved"" of his performance, representing a 1 percent increase from the first quarter.

Forty-six percent of homeowners gave their strong disapproval, along with 13 percent that somewhat disapproved of Obama's actions in office. Long-shot GOP presidential contender Rep. ""Ron Paul"":http://www.ronpaul2012.com/ (R-Texas)

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shored up 16 percent in support in a three-way poll preference.

The company also found more optimism among real estate professionals about the direction of home values, with 48 percent expecting home values to climb up from 37 percent last quarter.

Among homeowners, only 27 percent said they expected home values to increase, a tick up from 25 percent from the first quarter.

Fifty-nine percent of homeowners believe home values will climb over the next year, compared with 26 percent who think they will stay the same and 24 percent who say they will decline in the next six months.

By the same token, 82 percent of real estate professionals believe home values will rise over the next two years, compared with 12 percent from the stay-the-same column and 14 percent who believe values will decline in the next six months.

Thirty-eight percent of real estate agents and brokers believe values will hover at around the same figures in the next six months.

Agents and brokers said that 77 percent of homeowners believe their homes are worth more than figures seen in the listing prices, while 58 percent believe their homes are overpriced.

""Optimism among real estate professionals spiked in the second quarter,"" ""Louis Cammarosano"":http://blog.homegain.com/louis-cammarosano/, general manager of HomeGain, said in a statement. ""Real estate professionals are especially optimistic about home prices in the short term and especially optimistic in the coming two years with 82 percent of real estate professionals and 59 percent of homeowners expecting prices to rise.""