Home-price declines have accelerated in the last few months as more markets see price declines, First American CoreLogic reports.
On a national basis, home prices in December were down 11.1 percent from a year ago and 19.3 percent from their July 2006 peak, bringing them back to May 2004 levels, the company said.
States seeing the most severe year-over-year price declines were California (-26.9 percent), Nevada (-26.5 percent), Arizona (-21.1 percent), Florida (-19.5 percent) and Rhode Island (-19 percent).
Among the 958 statistical areas tracked by First American CoreLogic, more than 700 saw price declines in December, up from 394 in June and 254 a year ago. The total value residential properties was $19.1 trillion, down $2.4 trillion, at the end of the year.
California was home to nine out of the 10 markets with the highest home-price depreciation. The 10 markets that saw the biggest declines were:
- Stockton, Calif (-29.92 percent);
- Salinas, Calif. (-29.83 percent);
- Modesto, Calif. (-29.59 percent);
- Merced, Calif. (-29.56 percent);
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-29.53 percent);
- Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. (-29.49 percent);
- Bakersfield, Calif. (-29.03 percent);
- Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (-28.46 percent);
- Madera-Chowchilla, Calif. (-28.44 percent);
- El Centro, Calif. (-28.05 percent).
Five of the 11 best-performing markets were in New York. But First American CoreLogic said counties are slow to report there, and that it expects "significant downward revisions" to home-price-index data from New York when more up-to-date data becomes available. The 11 best-performing markets were:
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa (8.83 percent appreciation);
- Binghamton, N.Y. (7.78 percent);
- Amsterdam, N.Y. (7.89 percent);
- Malone, N.Y. (7.6 percent);
- Bay City, Mich. (6.87 percent);
- College Station-Bryan, Texas (6.78 percent);
- Rocky Mount, N.C. (6.69 percent);
- Auburn, N.Y. (6.51 percent);
- Lebanon, Pa. (6.28 percent);
- Elmira, N.Y. (6.28 percent);
- Johnstown, Pa. (6.2 percent).
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