Home Values Declined 1.1 Percent in Fourth Quarter

Zillow forecasts home values will be on the decline through December 2012, but the decrease will be smaller than in 2011.

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Home values in the U.S. fell in the fourth quarter, with the ""Zillow Home Value Index"":http://www.zillow.com/local-info/ (ZHVI) sinking 1.1 percent after a less significant decline for the two previous quarters.

The Seattle-based company's forecast also predicts that hardest hit cities such as Los Angeles; Riverside, California; and Phoenix, Arizona, will reach bottom and then stabilize or increase in value in 2012. Baltimore and Washington D.C. are also expected to reach bottom and see an increase or remain flat in 2012.

In the fourth quarter, the rate of homes foreclosed on increased slightly to 8.2 out of every 10,000 in December, compared to 8 out of every 10,000 homes in November. The rate was lower than the end of the third quarter, when it was 8.6 out of every 10,000 homes. Foreclosure re-sales made up 19.1 percent of all December sales, which is an increase from August, when 17.1 percent of all sales were foreclosure re-sales.