Tag Archives: Home Prices

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. The company says last week's reading is lower than the price for any other date since May 14, 2003.

Home prices in January were down 5.7 percent from a year earlier after factoring the month's REO sales and short sales into the mix, according to CoreLogic. January marked the sixth month in a row that the company has recorded a year-over-year decline in U.S. home prices. CoreLogic says the industry's ominous shadow inventory of distressed properties and rising negative equity, combined will still high levels of unemployment, all contributed to the continuing slide in home prices.

New data from Clear Capital indicates that the slow-down in foreclosure activity may be having a positive effect on property values in some parts of the country. However the company's report states that despite a national trend toward flattening of home prices, the western United States is dragging down encouraging developments in other regions, with the West expected to set new double dip price lows as early as next month should the trend continue.

The continuing depreciation of residential property values at the end of last year has made housing look more undervalued relative to income than ever before, according to analysts at the research firm Capital Economics. Based on industry home price data, the company says in the fourth quarter, housing was 15-21 percent undervalued as measured against individuals' disposable income. That gap has widened from just three months earlier, and the analysts say more forced sales of foreclosed properties will push prices even lower.

The Federal Reserve released a new rendition of its popular Beige Book this week. Reports from all 12 Fed districts indicated that overall economic activity continues to expand, but all said housing activity remains a key risk - a point reiterated by Fed Chairman Bernanke in his semiannual report to Congress this week when he explained to lawmakers that the housing market remains weak, with the overhang of foreclosed houses still weighing heavily on prices and potential homebuyers concerned about further declines in home values.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reports that home prices nationally dropped 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to the previous three-month period. On a year-over-year basis, the agency's index is down 3.9 percent. It's the largest annual decline recorded since the third quarter of 2009. Home prices have come in below their year-ago levels for 13 consecutive quarters now. The ongoing depreciation is being attributed, in part, to an elevated number of distressed properties weighing heavy on surrounding home prices.

For the first time in six months, home sales in the 54 U.S. markets surveyed by RE/MAX are greater than one year ago, the company said in its newly released January housing report. RE/MAX says the year-over-year sales difference has improved for three consecutive months now with several cities experiencing double digit growth to lead the trend. Home prices, however, were 4.6 percent lower than in January 2010.

Existing home sales rose again in January, for the third consecutive month, with the annual rate of 5.36 million marking the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier. Home sales are now 5.3 percent above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improvement is good but could be better. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $158,800 in January, down 3.7 percent from January 2010.

They say ""it's all in the numbers,"" but what if the numbers don't match up, in fact don't even come close? The real estate data and analytics firm CoreLogic has released a market report in which the company claims 2010 home sales estimates from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are overstated by 15 to 20 percent, or about 1.5 million homes. NAR says it's Corelogic's numbers that are off. Both parties agree that the issue lies in the methodology, compounded by the volatility and turbulence of today's market.

Data released by Standard & Poor's Tuesday show that the S&P-Case-Shiller home price index declined by 3.9 percent quarter-over-quarter during the last three months of 2010. The closely watched gauge is down 4.1 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2009. The agency warns that home prices are edging dangerously close to cycle lows, and a full-fledged double dip. Home prices in 11 major markets hit their lowest levels in December since prices peaked in 2006 and 2007.