Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fell by a Record 19% (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fell by a Record 19% (Update2) - Bloomberg.com: "March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell 19 percent in January from a year earlier, the fastest drop on record, as demand plummeted and foreclosures rose.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index’s decrease was more than forecast and compares with an 18.6 percent decrease in December. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007, and year- over-year records began in 2001.

A glut of unsold properties may keep prices low, shrinking household wealth and damping spending. Still, sales of new and previously owned homes rose in February, indicating the housing slump, now in its fourth year, may ease as policy efforts to unclog credit and aid borrowers begin to take hold."

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Prices down, sales up. Eventually prices start going back up, driven by the demand. At least, that's the theory. But we need to see an end to the foreclosure epidemic first, because the banks are unloading their foreclosed properties and that keeps overall prices suppressed.

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