Are US Home Price Declines Turning Around?
Home sale prices in the US continued their steady decline in the 4th quarter of 2009, according to Zillow.com, a leading real estate information website.
The national decline at the end of 2009 was -5% from December 2008. The quarterly decline was .5% representing the 12th straight quarter of year over year declines. The average selling price for US homes in Dec 09 was $186,200.
Results for selected markets varied. For example, Chicago Metro was -9%, Detroit Metro was a whopping -21%, Fort Myers -18.8%. There were also a few gainers such as Peoria at 11.3%, and Tulsa at 5.7%.
A number of major markets saw an end to the slide in prices: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Portland. About 20% of reported markets flattened in December or experienced a slight increase.
According to Stan Humphries, Chief Economist for Zillow.com, “While the next few months are likely to bring further home value declines in most markets, we do expect to see a national bottom in home prices by the middle of this year. Thereafter, home values are likely to bounce along the bottom with real appreciation remaining negligible for some time.”
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nickmesse :: Feb.13.2010 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »
