A recently released survey found that most Americans have no idea what’s happening with home prices in their area. In fact, 25 percent of participants thought home prices were flat last year, when they were actually up 4 percent nationally and, in 65 metro areas, saw double-digit increases. But, despite the seeming disinterest, home prices are important – whether you’re a prospective buyer, thinking about selling your house, or are a current homeowner. That’s because, for most of us, our home is our largest asset, which means having an idea of whether or not it’s growing in value should be of interest. And, for those of us thinking of buying or selling a home, the importance of knowing whether prices are up or down in our area is obvious. Still, the survey’s findings show a fairly common misconception that home values aren’t rising, when they really are. In some cases, such as Tampa, large percentages of respondents were wrong about their local market, with 45 percent guessing that values were flat when they actually rose by 9 percent. Other areas were closer to the truth, with Boston leading the way. In Boston, 23 percent of participants correctly judged local home prices, the highest percentage of any metro area. More here.