CLEAR CAPITAL: THE HOUSING DOUBLE DIP IS NOW OFFICIAL

by Cullen Roche

Well, this is no surprise to regular readers. We’ve been expecting a double dip in real estate for well over a year now. As soon as the government stepped out of the market the weakness was likely to reemerge and that is exactly what has happened. According to Clear Capital, the double dip in real estate is officially here as housing prices make fresh new lows:

TRUCKEE, CA – May 5, 2011 – Clear Capital (www.clearcapital.com) today released its monthly Home Data Index™ (HDI) Market Report, and reports prices have double dipped nationally 0.7 percent below prior lows experienced in March 2009. This month’s HDI Market Report provides the most current (through April 2011) and relevant analysis of how local markets performed compared to the national trend in home prices.
Report highlights include:

• National quarterly home prices changed -4.9%; while year-over-year national price changes reached -5.0%.
• National home prices have fallen 11.5% over the previous nine-month period, a rate of decline not experienced since 2008.
• In a sign of the continued volatility and fragility of home prices, all the major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) tracked in this month’s report showed quarter-over-quarter price declines.
• National REO saturation rate reaches 34.5%.

“The latest data through April shows a continued increase in the proportion of distressed sales that are taking hold in markets nationwide,” said Dr. Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital. “With more than one-third of national home sales being REO, market prices are being weighed down as many markets have not regained enough footing to withstand the strain of the high proportion of REO sales.

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