S. Fla. Home Prices Continue To Fall
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Homeowners in South Florida have been hoping for years for a boost in the real estate market, specifically the value of their homes. Unfortunately, new numbers from Standard & Poor's showed that recovery is still a long way away.
According to the S&P/Case-Shiller, the nation home price index dropped by 3.9 percent in the quarter ending in September. That drop followed a 5.8 percent decline in the second quarter.
In total, home prices have now declined to roughly the same price as the first quarter of 2003.
The numbers aren't much better for South Florida.
In Miami, home prices declined 0.7 percent from the second quarter of 2011; and compared to the third quarter in 2010, home prices in South Florida have declined by 4 percent.
Miami's home prices peaked in December 2006 and hit their low in April 2011. According to S&P/Case-Shiller, prices have dropped 50.2 percent from the high in December 2006 to their current values through September 2011.
The chances that the prices will recover seem to low, at least given the current economic paralysis in Washington and Europe.
The plunging collapse of prices seen in 2007-2009 seems to be behind us," said David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. "Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy."
CNBC.com reported that Real Estate Consulting found that home ownership, which peaked at 70 percent in 2005, will not return to that level until roughly 2025.
