From Bloomberg:
"Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in October by the most in at least six years, a private survey showed today.
Property values fell 6.1 percent from October 2006, more than forecast, after dropping 4.9 percent in September, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index. The decrease was the biggest since the group started keeping year-over-year records in 2001. The index has fallen every month this year."
Here's the S&P/Case-Shiller report (PDF file). The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area shows a 1-year change of -7%.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Broadbased, Record Price Declines in October
Posted by Harriet at 9:34 AM
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7 comments:
Harriet,
Thanks for all of the good information.
I moved into the Spotsylvania area in May 2006 and decided to rent instead of buying. I had planned to start looking in January 2008 however now I am getting nervous.
I believe my options are:
1. Keep renting.
2. Make an offer taking in account the likehood of the market trending downward. (Offer based on previous tax appraisals ?)
Any feedback from you or the board would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Denny
I would wait until January 2009. Prices certainly aren't going up next year.
Denny,
I'm sure you'll make a good decision based on your personal needs/wants and your budget. It's difficult to offer advice when people have such unique circumstances. There's a possibility that you might find a house in a stable neighborhood for a price that would rival renting. In that case, you might feel a little less nervous about the market trend.
There's never harm in studying listings and neighborhoods and getting an idea of what a good price is for the current market. I would be slightly wary of new listings in the Spring, because if things trend like last year, they were priced for an assumed Spring bounce.
Inventory will probably continue to grow until June, so you'll have more to choose from as the season progresses.
There's about 16 months of inventory in Spotsylvania County, and you can continue to watch sales trends here. Like Justin, I don't see a huge hurry to buy, but of course it depends on what you find and your needs.
According to the detailed S&P spreadsheet, prices in the DC area are down as follows from peak levels (by tier):
Low Tier(Under $363,419) -8.1%
Middle Tier($363,419 - $523,613) -10.4%
High Tier(Over $523,613) -6.5%
Aggregate(Overall DC Market) -9.7%
Thanks, John
Link to the spreadsheet.
Hi,
I have same confusion as Denny but I am planing to buy home in fairfax county. Some home prices looks attractive but still looking at inventory data and all it looks like prices will drop in 2008 too. I am looking for advice from you guys.
Thanks,
Om
Fairfax county is a very big area so it is pretty impossible to give a detailed answer.
It is obvious at this point that there is no recovery on the horizon. Most of Fairfax county is just starting to fall as the bust works its way inward.
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