In the first quarter, sellers slowly inched closer to reality when pricing their homes for sale, but they still have a very long way to go, according to a survey of real estate professionals.

In the second quarter Home Values Survey by HomeGain, 77 percent of homeowners believe their homes are worth more than the recommended agent listing price. In contrast, 58 percent of home buyers believe homes are overpriced in. In the first quarter, the percentage of sellers pricing their homes higher than their agents’ recommendations was the same, but 62 percent of buyers thought homes were overpriced.

The difference between what buyers are initially pricing their homes and their eventual list price increased slightly, from 77 percent in the first quarter, for 78 in the second. Some 82 percent of sellers had to settle for less than list price when they sold in the first quarter compared to 75 percent in the second quarter.

“Optimism among real estate professionals spiked in the second quarter. 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.” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain.

The first and second quarter HomeGain surveys straddled the spring home buying season, which was notable for exceptionally low inventories registering 20 percent or more in most markets. Over 400 real estate agents and brokers and over 1,700 homeowners participated in the HomeGain survey.