Home Prices in Top Metro Areas Continue to Decline
From Homescape
written by Amy Le on Thursday, May 1, 9:32AM
For all of us still waiting to see the bottom fall out from the housing bust, the bad news keeps a coming. Home prices continue to fall in the country’s top 20 metro markets, according to the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index released on Tuesday. The index, which tracks 20 of the largest housing markets, showed prices plummeting by 12.7 percent in the 12 months ending February. That’s the biggest fall since the index began tracking prices eight years ago.
The hardest hit cities include the Las Vegas metro area, where prices plunged more than any other city, down 22.8 percent over the 12 months through February. Miami prices plummeted 21.7 percent. In Phoenix, they’ve dropped 20.8 percent.
Of the 20 cities tracked by the index, Charlotte, NC, was able to buck the nationwide trend and enjoyed a 1.5 percent price increase over the 12-month period.
Nevada, California and Arizona also lead the nation in foreclosure filings, according to a separate report release by RealtyTrac on Tuesday.
Foreclosures up
RealtyTrac reported that nationally, there were nearly 650,000 foreclosure filings —including notices of default, auction sales and bank repossessions — were issued in the first quarter of this year. That represents one of every 194 households and marks a 23 percent increase from the last quarter of 2007. Some economists speculate the number of foreclosures to mushroom even more as an expected $362 billion worth in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are due to reset this year.
One-year change in home-price declines
Las Vegas: -22.8%
Miami: -21.7%
Phoenix: -20.8%
Los Angeles: -19.4%
San Diego: -19.2%
Tampa: -17.5%
San Francisco: -17.2%
Detroit: -16.5%
Washington: -13.0%
Minneapolis: -12.5%
Cleveland: -9.2%
Chicago: -8.5%
New York: -6.6%
Atlanta: -5.6%
Denver: -5.5%
Boston: -4.6%
Dallas: -4.1%
Seattle: -2.7%
Portland: -2.0%
Charlotte: 1.5%
Source: Standard & Poor’s and Fiserv; data through February 2008
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.
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