South Florida Home Prices forecasted to fall even more
Home prices in Miami fell 9.9 percent between December 2008 and December 2009, but slipped just 0.3 percent between November and December, according to the 20-city S&P Case-Shiller home price index.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices were up 0.3 percent nationwide in December, but were down 3.1 percent in the last year.
“As measured by prices, the housing market is definitely in better shape than it was this time last year, as the pace of deterioration has stabilized for now. However, the rate of improvement seen during the summer of 2009 has not been sustained,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, in a news release.
Only three cities – Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa – still showed double-digit annual rates of decline as of the end of 2009.
“Going forward, forces that will bring home prices back down are growing. Demand has dropped as a result of the first-time homebuyer tax credit expiring,” noted Patrick Newport, a U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight.