Foreclosures crush home prices

May 11, 2011: 3:53 PM ET
chart-home-price.top.gif

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Home prices continued to plummet during the first three months of 2011, falling 4.6% from a year earlier.

The U.S. median price, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), dropped to $158,700 for a single family house. Condo prices fell even harder -- 10.4% to $152,900.

The median home price has now slumped 30% from its 2006 high of $227,100, and prices have fallen nearly 7% so far this year.

"We're seeing prices dropping faster than they did in 2010," said Pat Newport, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "That's troubling. Falling home prices precipitated the recession and are slowing the recovery."

NAR blamed much of the latest price drop on sales of foreclosed properties. These "distressed" property sales accounted for 39% of the market, up from 36% from a year earlier.

Distressed properties, often in poor condition and are priced to move, sell for about 20% less than conventional home sales.

Those sales attract speculators, investors and cash buyers who gravitate toward lower priced homes, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. (How to buy a foreclosure)

The market for distressed properties may further expand over the next few months. Falling prices have sent more mortgage borrowers underwater, owing more on their mortgage balances than their homes are worth. That makes them more likely to default on loans.

"That's a key problem," said Newport. "There are a lot of bad loans in the foreclosure pipeline and we don't know how many strategic defaults [people walking away from their mortgages] will result."

Of the 153 home markets covered by the report, Honolulu recorded the highest median price, $579,300. San Jose, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley, was second at $545,000, and Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif. was third at $511,800.

The lowest priced markets were in the Rust-Belt: Youngstown, Ohio ($55,400); Lansing, Mich. ($64,400); and Toledo, Ohio ($64,900).

The biggest losers were Gulfport, Miss. (down 22.8% to $99,400); Akron, Ohio (off 21.4% to $74,900); and Salem, Ore.(down 20.6% to $153,500). To top of page

Check out prices in your home town
Metro Area State Median home price
1st Quarter
Percent change from
1st Quarter 2010
Abilene Texas $110,300 -0.7%
Akron Ohio $74,900 -21.4%
Albany N.Y. $184,000 0.1%
Albuquerque N.M. $167,700 -3.7%
Allentown Pa. $186,200 -18.4%
Amarillo Texas $120,500 3.2%
Anaheim Calif. $511,800 -5.1%
Appleton Wis. $115,500 -6.1%
Atlanta Ga. $99,800 -9.4%
Atlantic City N.J. $212,700 -0.3%
AustInd. Texas $188,200 3.1%
Baltimore Md. $212,600 -9.5%
Barnstable Town Mass. $299,000 -8.2%
Baton Rouge La. $160,600 -3.4%
Beaumont Texas $125,300 -1.3%
Binghamton N.Y. $106,600 3.7%
Birmingham Ala. $132,400 -2.0%
Bismarck N.D. $159,500 1.0%
Bloomington Ill. $149,000 -0.7%
Boise City Idaho $127,300 -6.9%
Boston Mass. $322,100 0.1%
Boulder Colo. $353,400 -2.3%
Bridgeport Conn. $342,100 -7.9%
Buffalo N.Y. $118,100 10.8%
Burlington Vt. $271,200 10.6%
Canton Ohio $87,300 6.7%
Cape Coral Fla. $91,800 6.3%
Cedar Rapids Iowa $129,400 -4.9%
Champaign Ill. $134,000 3.0%
Charleston W.Va. $122,200 4.9%
Charleston S.C. $183,500 -5.7%
Charlotte N.C. $195,100 12.2%
Chattanooga Tenn. $117,300 3.9%
Chicago Ill. $155,000 -11.7%
Cincinnati Ohio $112,800 -7.5%
Cleveland Ohio $87,000 -19.7%
Colorado Springs Colo. $184,300 -0.3%
Columbia Mo. $148,800 6.7%
Columbia S.C. $135,500 -0.8%
Columbus Ohio $114,400 -9.1%
Corpus Christi Texas $133,800 3.3%
Cumberland Md. $80,700 -17.9%
Dallas Texas $143,100 1.4%
Davenport Iowa $94,800 -7.5%
Dayton Ohio $78,000 -20.3%
Decatur Ill. $81,300 8.4%
Deltona Fla. $110,100 -7.0%
Denver Colo. $223,800 -0.4%
Des Moines Iowa $133,700 2.1%
Dover Del. $166,500 -12.4%
Durham N.C. $158,000 -8.3%
El Paso Texas $131,500 2.3%
Elmira N.Y. $88,300 -2.8%
Erie Pa. $94,500 -1.3%
Fargo N.D. $139,400 -0.9%
Farmington N.M. $178,900 -6.3%
Florence S.C. $107,600 9.2%
Ft. Wayne Ind. $82,400 -11.6%
Gainesville Fla. $146,300 -5.4%
Gary Ind. $101,300 -6.9%
Glens Falls N.Y. $141,700 2.2%
Grand Rapids Mich. $81,100 -10.6%
Green Bay Wis. $128,500 -2.4%
Greensboro N.C. $115,700 -4.7%
Greenville S.C. $137,200 -2.4%
Gulfport Miss. $99,400 -22.8%
Hagerstown Md. $121,100 -16.7%
Hartford Conn. $213,600 -5.4%
Honolulu Hawaii $579,300 -6.7%
Houston Texas $148,500 -1.1%
Indianapolis Ind. $109,900 -4.4%
Jackson Miss. $133,900 9.9%
Jacksonville Fla. $127,400 -9.5%
Kankakee Ill. $110,000 -4.3%
Kansas City Mo. $125,300 -4.1%
Kennewick. Wash. $175,400 -0.6%
Kingston N.Y. $200,900 -7.5%
Knoxville Tenn. $139,700 3.4%
Lansing Mich. $64,400 -16.5%
Las Vegas Nev. $128,300 -6.4%
Lexington Ky. $133,300 -1.6%
Lincoln Neb. $132,800 0.0%
Little Rock Ark. $127,700 -1.5%
Los Angeles Calif. $292,700 -2.0%
Louisville Ky. $125,000 -2.1%
Madison Wis. $216,300 1.7%
Manchester N.H. $204,600 -6.7%
Memphis Tenn. $104,200 -8.5%
Miami Fla. $153,600 -19.7%
Milwaukee Wis. $181,400 -11.0%
Minneapolis Minn. $140,600 -13.2%
Mobile Ala. $106,900 -8.2%
Montgomery Ala. $119,600 -3.7%
New Haven Conn. $211,700 -7.1%
New Orleans La. $147,900 -4.3%
New York N.Y. $375,900 -1.2%
New York N.Y. $439,300 0.5%
Norwich Conn. $177,100 -13.7%
Edison N.J. $303,200 -6.9%
Nassau N.Y. $372,000 -1.3%
Newark N.J. $360,700 1.2%
Ocala Fla. $75,400 -18.8%
Oklahoma City Okla. $129,300 -8.1%
Omaha Neb. $128,500 -3.3%
Orlando Fla. $119,700 -7.6%
Palm Bay Fla. $89,500 -15.8%
Pensacola Fla. $131,200 -6.8%
Peoria Ill. $100,900 -2.5%
Philadelphia Pa. $199,100 -5.1%
Phoenix Ariz. $126,700 -10.1%
Pittsfield Mass. $172,400 -8.5%
Portland Maine $199,700 -0.2%
Portland Ore. $213,400 -10.1%
Providence R.I. $208,500 -1.6%
Raleigh N.C. $229,900 4.5%
Reading Pa. $140,100 -5.1%
Reno Nev. $166,300 -8.3%
Riverside Calif. $173,400 -0.3%
Rochester N.Y. $114,100 1.7%
Rockford Ill. $92,300 -12.1%
Sacramento Calif. $169,400 -5.6%
Saint Louis Mo. $107,400 -7.5%
Salem Ore. $153,500 -20.6%
Salt Lake City UT $190,500 -6.5%
San Antonio Texas $148,500 4.4%
San Diego Calif. $374,800 -1.1%
San Francisco Calif. $465,900 -3.6%
San Jose Calif. $545,000 -2.7%
Sarasota Fla. $147,100 -12.2%
Seattle Wash. $287,100 -5.1%
Shreveport La. $156,000 6.6%
Sioux Falls SD $147,400 2.1%
South Bend Ind. $68,700 -1.2%
Spartanburg S.C. $108,000 -7.8%
Spokane Wash. $159,500 -6.2%
Springfield Ill. $117,500 -2.1%
Springfield Mass. $169,100 -7.2%
Springfield Mo. $111,200 3.6%
Syracuse N.Y. $114,400 -1.9%
Tallahassee Fla. $133,600 -13.5%
Tampa Fla. $113,600 -15.2%
Toledo Ohio $64,900 -12.5%
Topeka Kan. $92,500 -6.1%
Trenton N.J. $218,700 -5.0%
Tucson Ariz. $136,800 -18.0%
Tulsa Okla. $123,100 -1.4%
Virginia Beach Va. $178,000 -8.7%
Washington D.C. $294,800 0.8%
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Iowa $98,400 -10.1%
Wichita Kan. $105,700 -8.0%
Worcester Mass. $198,800 -5.2%
Yakima Wash. $141,400 -8.5%
Youngstown Ohio $55,400 -16.3%
Note1: California prices provided by the California Association of REALTORS®
*All areas are metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as defined by the US Office of Management and Budget as of 2004. They include the named central city and surrounding areas. N/A Not Available p Preliminary r Revised
Most current data available
© 2011 National Association of REALTORS®
Metro Area State Median Price
1Q 2011
% Change
(1-yr)
Baltimore Md. $180,300 -11.0%
Barnstable Town Mass. $171,100 -28.1%
Bismarck N.D. $129,000 -0.8%
Boston Mass $265,000 -2.4%
Bridgeport Conn. $224,900 -5.4%
Chicago Ill. $133,200 -24.1%
Cincinnati Ohio $89,800 -19.2%
Colorado Springs Colo. $128,400 -0.2%
Columbus Ohio $101,800 -10.8%
Dallas Texas $116,600 -10.5%
Hartford Conn. $165,900 -0.8%
Honolulu Hawaii $311,100 1.9%
Houston Texas $109,100 -10.7%
Indianapolis Ind. $126,400 16.0%
Jacksonville Fla. $62,400 -21.7%
Knoxville Tenn. $138,900 4.0%
Las Vegas Nev. $59,800 -8.0%
Los Angeles Calif. $206,100 -11.0%
Louisville Ky. $117,800 -5.0%
Madison Wis. $147,700 5.2%
Manchester N.H. $141,900 -17.4%
Miami Fla. $79,200 -16.9%
Milwaukee Wis. $151,900 -5.3%
New Haven Conn. $157,600 0.9%
New Orleans La. $152,800 -19.6%
New Yorks N.Y. $251,300 -10.8%
Norwich Conn. $142,400 -19.1%
Newark N.J. $258,300 -5.7%
Edison N.J. $243,000 0.7%
Nassau N.Y. $231,100 1.3%
Palm Bay Fla. $96,600 18.5%
Philadelphia PA $177,300 -5.2%
Phoenix Ariz. $71,000 -19.6%
Portland Maine $200,000 12.2%
Portland Ore. $144,200 -16.3%
Providence R.I. $162,000 -11.2%
Reno Nev. $69,300 -1.7%
Rochester N.Y. $125,700 15.0%
Sacramento Calif. $80,500 -9.4%
Salt Lake City UT $143,300 -6.0%
San Diego Calif. $204,400 -5.2%
San Francisco Calif. $357,800 -8.5%
Sarasota Fla. $126,600 -31.6%
Springfield Mass. $148,300 -8.6%
Syracuse N.Y. $128,800 -10.1%
Tallahassee Fla. $71,600 -13.5%
Tampa Fla. $65,600 -30.7%
Toledo Ohio $92,400 -18.4%
Trenton N.J. $198,800 -7.3%
Tucson Ariz. $93,500 4.8%
Virginia Beach Va. $172,000 -3.4%
Washington D.C. $216,200 -7.8%
Wichita Kan. $87,900 0.0%
Worcester Mass. $141,200 -12.7%
*All areas are metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as defined by the US Office of Management and Budget as of 2004.
** Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH - Data from New Hampshire not available
They include the named central city and surrounding areas. N/A Not Available p Preliminary r Revised
© 2011 National Association of REALTORS®

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