| Two thirds of cities home prices fall { April 2008 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4j8WTMBV7wU&refer=homehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4j8WTMBV7wU&refer=home
Home Prices Fall in Two-Thirds of U.S. Cities on Foreclosures By Kathleen M. Howley
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Housing prices fell in two-thirds of U.S. cities in the first three months of the year as a rise in foreclosures depressed property values and home sales tumbled 22 percent, the National Association of Realtors said.
The median price for a single-family home fell in 100 of 149 metropolitan areas studied by the Chicago-based real estate trade group. Home sales, including single-family houses and condominiums, dropped to 4.95 million at an annualized pace from 6.36 million a year ago, the group said in separate reports today.
Home prices are falling as foreclosed properties reduce the value of nearby real estate, said Lawrence Yun, the realtor group's chief economist. U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of foreclosure data, said in a study released April 29.
``Prices have fallen in neighborhoods with a wide prevalence of subprime loans, because more foreclosed properties are being sold at discounted prices,'' Yun said in today's report.
The U.S. median home price, the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less, was $196,300 in the first quarter, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when it was $212,600 the association said in the report.
Last Updated: May 13, 2008 10:01 EDT
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