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]
Leave a Reply