During the past several years, the nation's housing sector has been weighed down with a disturbing trend that had been absent since the Great Depression: falling home values. However, most of the damage has already been done. In the past six months home prices have shown signs of stabilizing.
The Case-Shiller 20-city index has risen 5.3 percent since April of this year. The worst may be over but it is likely that prices may drop further due to a mounting foreclosure problem. According to a recent Realty Trac report, there were almost 3 million foreclosure filings last year, an all-time record. Foreclosures are one of the primary reasons for falling home prices since a foreclosed homes sell at a discount to non-foreclosed homes, bringing down the mean and median price for all homes sold in a marketplace.
Source: David Lereah, RealEstateEconomyWatch.com, (1/25/10)
No comments:
Post a Comment