Bankruptcy

Home Values Fall

By J. Michael McBride

In another “not since the Great Depression” moment, recent reports state that the value of homes in the US have fallen 13 percent.

“The median resale price fell 13 percent from a year before, to $181,300, “probably the largest price decline since the Great Depression,” National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in Washington. Sales slid to an annual rate of 4.49 million, lower than forecast. ...“November sales just collapsed,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. “Price declines are accelerating. As bad as this is, it’s going to be considerably worse in a month’s time.”

Separately, the Commerce Department reported today that new home sales fell 2.9 percent last month to a 17-year low. The median sales price declined 11.5 percent from a year earlier.

U.S. household wealth already fell in the third quarter by the most on record, Federal Reserve figures showed earlier this month. Net worth for households and non-profit groups decreased by $2.81 trillion, the most since the Fed’s data began in 1952.”

Here is a link to this article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atK2nbqp3QXk&refer=worldwide

Michael

Full post as published by Texas Lawyer Blog on December 23, 2008 (boomark / email).