Investor sentiment surrounding the US real estate market appears to be low. More than half of property owners and renters in the country (54 per cent) believe that the sector will not fully recover until at least 2014.
Analysts from Trulia and RealtyTrac, who carried out the survey, compared the results to research undertaken in November in which recovery was touted as coming as soon as next year.
The real estate market is weakening and near record low interest rates and falling prices are failing to boost demand after the ending of the federal tax credit for homebuyers last year.
"Demand remains weak, loans are increasingly difficult to qualify for and the shadow inventory of several million distressed properties is weighing down the market. All of these things need to improve before housing can recover," said Rick Sharga, senior vice-president at RealtyTrac.
The survey highlights confusion among property owners surrounding the state of the market. Some 45 per cent of respondents said the government is not working hard enough to prevent foreclosures, while 17 per cent said too much is being done, 16 per cent believe the response is appropriate and 22 per cent are not sure either way.