Radar Logic's 25-metro-area RPX Composite price slumped to its lowest value last week since its peak in June 2007. Based on data from home sales that closed during the 28 days ending January 3, 2011, the value was at $183.18 per square foot.
That's 34 percent lower than the 2007 peak value of $278.32 per square foot. The company says last week's reading is lower than the price for any other date since May 14, 2003.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]New York-based ""Radar Logic"":http://www.radarlogic.com is a technology-driven data and analytics business that produces a daily ""spot"" price for residential real estate in major U.S. metropolitan areas.
According to the company, the RPX Composite price will continue to exhibit year-on-year declines throughout 2011 due to a growing supply of homes both for sale and being held in the inventories of financial institutions, as well as weakening demand due to the reduction of government incentives for homebuyers.
""No matter what you call it, a ‘double dip' or the continuation of a long process of deterioration, the current trend in home prices is evidence that housing markets are continuing to languish,"" said Quinn Eddins, director of research at Radar Logic.
""We expect the negative trend to continue under a severe supply overhang that includes a large and growing ‘shadow inventory' of homes in default or foreclosure,"" Eddins added.