Most Realtors think home prices will either stay the same or increase in the next six months, according to the latest quarterly survey by HomeGain.

The survey, based on the responses of 928 real estate agents and brokers across the country, shows 48 percent of Realtors think home prices will stay the same and 24 percent believe price will increase in the next six months.

Realtors also reported the first-time homebuyer tax credit has driven sales and stabilized home prices.

"Realtors, however, expressed concerns about the cost of the credit to tax payers and whether sales will continue once the credit expires later next year and additional inventory hits the market," said Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain. "The vast majority of Realtors expect prices to remain the same or increase in the first six months of 2010."

Twenty-one percent of Realtors surveyed said more than half of their transactions in the past three months involved a first-time homebuyer. Only 11 percent of Realtors surveyed said that none of their transactions involved a first-time homebuyer.

According to the survey, 41 percent of homeowners believe that their homes should be listed 10 percent to 20 percent higher than what their Realtors’ recommend, up from 38 percent of homeowners who believed so in the prior quarterly survey.

Seventy-six percent of home sellers believe that their homes are worth more than their Realtors’ recommended listing price, up from 74 percent in the previous survey.

Conversely, 62 percent of home buyers think that homes are overpriced, down from 64 percent in the last survey.