A new survey from Reuters and the University of Michigan found that a third of homeowners felt their homes lost value in February, compared to 16% a year ago. For the first time in the survey’s history (we don’t know how long they’ve been doing it, but they cite numbers from as far back as 1992), “the proportion of homeowners who reported falling home prices was greater than the proportion that reported gains.”

Just 25 percent reported gains in their home’s value, down from 48 percent in February 2007 and the peak of 76 percent in mid-2005.

When asked about prospects for the year ahead, 27 percent of all home owners in February anticipated additional declines in home prices, up from 21 percent in January and 12 percent in March 2007.

Homes in the West seemed to suffer more than in the South, and “The most frequent and the largest percentage declines were reported by homeowners whose homes were valued in the top third of the distribution.”

“More homeowners say their homes depreciated: survey” [Reuters]
(Photo: Suburban Cowboy)

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