US Home Prices Continue To Suffer

According to Zillow.com (link below), US home values are set to drop by more than $1.7 trillion in 2010.

The site estimates that since the peak of the US real estate market in June of 2006, US home values have fallen by a staggering $9 trillion.

This means that US home values have fallen an average of $29,315 for every man, woman and child in the country since the peak of the real estate market in mid 2006.

--

Zillow claims that this year's decline easily outpaced 2009's drop of $1.05 trillion, thanks to rising foreclosures and the expiration of homebuyer tax credits.



The continued decline in US home values means that even more Americans are "underwater" (owe more than their house is worth) on their mortgages. According to Zillow, homeowners with "negative equity" rose to a staggeringly high 23.2% in Q3, up from 21.8% at the end of 2009.

--

Surely we must be close to a bottom in the housing market though, right?

Wrong, at least according to many analysts.

The general consensus amongst analysts is that the US home values will continue to drop for the foreseeable future, thanks to tightened lending standings, a high volume of "shadow inventory" and continued high unemployment rates.

Morgan Stanley's analysts, for instance, have gone on record as saying that they believe that US home prices will fall by as much as an additional 11% by 2012.

Source: Zillow.com - Early 2010 Housing Stabilization Fizzles; US Homes Set To Lose $1.7 Trillion This Year

Filed under: Real Estate News