Home Prices Will Bottom Out at the End of 2009

Nationwide, home prices will bottom out at the end of this year, according to the forecasters at Moody’s Economy.com. Median prices will probably fall another 10% on top of the 27% they’ve plummeted since their 2006 peak. That prediction assumes that President Obama’s various recovery efforts – including billions to slow foreclosures and goose bank lending, plus a tax credit to most 2009 buyers who haven’t owned in the past three years – will have some effect. If they don’t, says Economy.com’s Mark Zandi, the bottom could come as late as 2011.

And then? “The recovery will look more like a U than a V,” predicts Mike Larson, a real estate analyst at Weiss Research. Translation: After home prices hit their lows, they’ll probably stay there for a few years as the economy slowly struggles back to its feet. Prices aren’t expected to reach their 2006 levels again for another decade. [via Money Magazine]

• Become A Funded Futures Trader