Double dip in some markets drag home prices down 5.8%: Clear Capital

Home prices in November dropped 5.8% over the previous three months and are down 2.7% from a year ago, according to real estate analytics firm Clear Capital. The quarterly drop is up from the 5% decline in October. But the immediate and drastic decline seen through the fall has slowed, according to analysts, and prices remain 5.5% above the lows seen in 2009. Clear Capital Senior Statistician Alex Villacorta said the downward pressure continues. “It’s encouraging that the immediate and dramatic decline in prices that we observed since mid-August appears to be softening,” Villacorta said. “But any optimism should be tempered by the fact that November’s numbers show continued significant downward pressure for home prices. Nationally, prices are six percent above double-dip territory, but are down eight percent since the momentum from the tax credit ended.” Prices dropped most in the Midwest, falling 9.9% from three months ago, followed by a 4.8% drop in the South. With prices just above record lows in the South, Clear Capital reported the region is narrowing in on a double dip. Drilling down further, 13 of the top 50 metro markets have double-dipped, more than double the six reported in October. Those markets are the Florida metros of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa; Charlotte, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nashville, Tenn.; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Tucson, Ariz.; and the Virginia metros of Richmond and Virginia Beach. Only Honolulu, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C., maintained quarterly and yearly price gains. “From a local perspective, we continue to see individual markets distance themselves from national price levels in both positive and negative directions,” Villacorta said. “For example, Washington, D.C., maintains its positive price growth with prices now 15% above last year’s lows, while the four biggest Florida markets are now seeing new price lows since the housing downturn began.” Write to Jon Prior.