Home Prices Fall in 23 U.S. Cities as Defaults Rise

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:





Home Prices Fall in 23 U.S. Cities as Defaults Rise (Update1)

By Brian Louis

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices fell in 23 U.S. metropolitan areas in March, led by Sacramento and San Diego, as rising foreclosures prolonged the housing recession.

The price per square foot in Sacramento, California's capital, dropped 31 percent to $160 from a year earlier, according to a report released today by New York-based Radar Logic Inc., a real estate data company. Prices in San Diego declined 27 percent to $251 a square foot. New York area prices fell compared with a year earlier for the first time since Radar Logic began publishing in 2000, the report said.

Foreclosure filings surged 65 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in April compared with a year earlier as rates on adjustable mortgages increased, according to RealtyTrac Inc. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 14.4 percent in March from a year earlier, the most since the figures were first published in 2001.

The report shows ``weakness compared to last year in almost all markets,'' Radar Logic said. Prices in Phoenix and San Francisco ``continued to experience negative pressure'' as financial institutions, foreclosure service firms and foreclosure auction houses sold homes.

More than 243,300 properties were in some stage of foreclosure in April, the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based seller of default data, began in January 2005. One in every 519 households received a filing and Nevada, California and Florida had the highest rates.

Median Prices

California, Nevada and Florida accounted for 9 of the 25 cities measured by Radar Logic it its monthly report.

California home prices tumbled 32 percent in April from a year earlier as ``distressed'' properties and a lack of financing cut demand, the state realtors group said.

The median existing home price fell to $403,870, the California Association of Realtors said in a statement on May 23. Sales increased 2.5 percent, ending 30 months of consecutive year- on-year declines.

Las Vegas was the third-worst U.S. market in the Radar Logic report, with prices dropping 26 percent to $134 a foot, and Phoenix was fourth with a 22.7 percent decline. Los Angeles was fifth with a 22.4 percent drop. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1GftpGS76j4&refer=home

[whistle]

1. All according to plan...the BushCo Big Bankers plan...

<snip>
The Housing Bubble was Engineered

Daniel Estulin has researched the Bilderberg club for 20 years. One of the originators of this group was Prince Bernard of the Netherlands. His daughter Queen Beatrice is still the one of the ones in control of this group. She is my Queen since I am Dutch. It was common knowledge in the Netherlands that the Prince was into the big corporate world, was being paid big bucks for all kinds of secret interventions and power games.

Did the bankers know that the housing bubble was going to collapse into a worldwide disaster?

Well, sensible economists knew in 2002 and well before:

http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/housing_2002_08.pdf

[magellan]

2. Depression hurts

Those who think they won't be negatively impacted by what's coming are living in a fantasy world...unless they're one of Bush**'s top 1% have-mores. And even they will find it difficult to feel safe.