Despite widespread price declines, more than 70 percent of homeowners polled for a recent national survey said they believe the value of their homes increased or remained the same last year.

“People either aren’t paying attention to their housing market or are in denial about their own home’s value,” said  Stan Humphries, vice president of data and analytics at Zillow.com.

Zillow’s online survey was conducted in December and includes views from 1,619 homeowners. About a third of owners polled said they thought their homes rose in value during 2007, while 41 percent said values stayed the same.

“This likely reflects the fact that most Americans have not realized home-related losses because they’re staying in their homes,” Humphries said in a statement.

“Even in declining markets where a greater percentage of new homeowners are underwater on their mortgage, it’s important to remember most people are not really affected by declining values unless they absolutely must sell or need to immediately refinance or withdraw equity.”

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