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Home Value Declines Likely to Slow in 2012

U.S. home values fell 1.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011, and they were down 4.7 percent for all of 2011, according to the latest Zillow Home Value Forecast. The average home price in 2011 was $146,900. Zillow predicts home values will fall 3.7 percent in 2012. While home values in some of the hardest hit markets â such as Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., and Phoenix â are likely to hit bottom in 2012, a definitive bottom for the nation may not occur until 2013, the report concludes. The rate of foreclosed homes edged up to 8.2 out of every 10,000 homes in December, up from 8.0 in November. Foreclosure re-sales made up 19.1 percent of all sales in December.

Government Strikes Mortgage and Foreclosure Abuse Deal with Banks

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general struck a $25 billion deal with the nationâs five largest mortgage banks to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. The agreement marks the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained, the DOJ says, with a portion of the money earmarked to help some 750,000 victims of mortgage or foreclosure fraud. The five banks involved â Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial â will pay for the settlement.

Request for CRS Magazine Sources

We are looking to interview CRS Designees about the following topics for the May/June 2012 issue of The Residential Specialist magazine. If you have experience with or insight into one or more of these topics, please respond to mfenner@crs.com with a brief summary about it. A writer may contact you for an interview.

U.S. Home Prices Slip in January

U.S. home prices fell 2.6 percent in January from the previous year, an increase from the 2.1 percent decline reported a month ago, according to the latest report by Clear Capital. On a quarterly basis, home prices slipped 1.6 percent in January.

U.S. Home Prices Decline in December

U.S. home prices, including distressed sales, declined 4.7 percent in December 2011 compared with December 2010, according to the December Home Price Index (HPI) by CoreLogic. This marks the fifth consecutive year that home prices declined. Excluding distressed sales, home prices decreased by 0.9 percent in 2011.

President Obama Outlines a New Housing Plan

In his State of the Union address President Obama announced an initiative designed to help responsible homeowners hold onto their homes â and in turn help the housing market recover. In a later speech he delivered to unveil the administrationâs new plan, he called the housing marketâs struggles âthe single biggest drag on our recovery from a terrible recessionâ¦But it is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom.â The key aspects of the presidentâs plan include:

10 Markets to Watch in 2012

Real estate markets in the Midwest and the South dominate the list of the Top 10 Markets to Watch in 2012, according to a report compiled by Inman News. Only two Northeastern markets, both in New York, made the list, but no markets from the West were included. The 10 markets are: Raleigh-Cary, N.C.; Wichita, Kan.; Rochester, N.Y.; Des Moines, Iowa; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Peoria, Ill.; Amarillo, Texas; Binghampton, N.Y.; Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa; and Bloomington-Normal, Ill. These markets are showing signs of improvement in several key metrics, including above-average price appreciation, a flourishing job market, a high rate of sales in proportion to population, higher home affordability, low foreclosure activity, a below-average share of distressed sales, and low vacancy rates.

U.S. Home Prices Fell in November

U.S. home prices continued to fall in November, returning to levels last seen in 2003, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The 10-City and 20-City Composites posted annual declines of 3.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, from November 2010, and 18 of the 20 metro areas surveyed posted annual declines. Atlanta had the largest annual decline at 11.8 percent in November, while Detroit and Washington, D.C., were the only two cities to show positive annual returns of 3.8 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. On a monthly basis, both the 10-City and 20-City Composites fell 1.3 percent in November from the previous month, with 19 of the 20 cities posting declines. Chicago posted the biggest monthly decline at 3.4 percent, followed by Atlanta with a decline of 2.5 percent and Detroit with 2.4 percent.

Turnaround Markets To Lead U.S. Housing Recovery

Eight of the nationâs 10 quickest-recovering housing markets are located in Florida, according to fourth-quarter 2011 data compiled by Realtor.com. The other two markets among the top 10 are Phoenix and Boise, Idaho. These top 10 recovery markets all have suffered some of the nationâs highest foreclosure rates since 2006, but strong performance in sales and inventory in the fourth quarter put them in the forefront of a housing recovery, the report says. The rankings are based on four factors: year-over-year median price appreciation; reduced median age of inventory on an annual basis; inventory reduction levels as observed by Realtor.com; and annual unemployment rates. Miami has the top ranking due to a surge in existing-home sales, which jumped 51 percent in third quarter of 2011 compared to the previous year, and a reduction of inventory by nearly half compared to a year ago.

Remodeling Outlook Positive for 2012

Like the residential housing market, the remodeling market is showing signs of improvement, according to two leading industry indexes. The National Association of Home Buildersâ Remodeling Market Index (RMI) rose five points in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the third quarter, reaching its highest level in five years. Index components measuring current market conditions and future indicators of remodeling business both increased five points in the fourth quarter. The highest market activity occurred in two categories: major additions and minor additions.