In the U.S. housing valuation analysis from IHS Global Insight, nationally, house prices have fallen 10.4% below their 2007 peak. The nation’s housing market, as a whole, is now slightly undervalued, a sharp contrast to 2005 when 52 metropolitan areas were seen to be extremely overvalued.
Home prices declined by more than 10% in five metro areas and by more than 5% in 26 in the first quarter, compared with 104 declining by more than 10% and 16 by more than 5% in the previous quarter.
The most dramatic changes in valuation have occurred in metro areas in California and Florida where many have gone from extremely overvalued to undervalued in a span of two years. Magnifying the downward pressure on prices in these areas are the huge number of foreclosures and other short sales, as well as the large inventory overhand of unsold homes.
James Diffley, group managing director of IHS Global Insight’s Regional Services Group, said: â€While it’s too early to see a bottom of this housing downturn, this quarter’s deceleration in the rate of decline may signal that the market is beginning to stabilize.”
We’re only seeing the last of the 1 and first of the 3 year ARMs getting their bumps now. Remember that even though housing was slowing refinancing were very strong. Not only that but most people that played that game pulled equity out too which means they essentially lump themselves in with the last of the buyers. Even if you say the top was at the end of ’06, and it wasn’t, we still need to get through all of ’09 just to clear out the last of the 3 year ARMs. And the only way those people don’t get hit hard is if property values not just stabilize but actually rise a bit as lending standards are tighter and they will have to come up with some equity.
San Diego real estate broker
Homes will always be unaffordable to the average person in high priced CA as long as government subsidize home owners in the form of mortgage tax deductions, and Fannie Mae bailouts. Remove the interest tax deduction and watch the prices correct 50%. This place a bottom on home prices and increase home ownership than further government meddling. The issue is affordability, not unemployment. Prices are still too high due to government tax policies and bad lending practices.
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