Home prices fell 14% because of foreclosures...
Banks aren't even listing ALL of their foreclosures for fear of making prices go even lower.
Home Prices in U.S. Fall 14% as Banks Sell Foreclosed Houses
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By Kathleen M. Howley
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- The median U.S. home price dropped 14 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as banks sold repossessed homes.
Prices fell in 134 of 152 metropolitan areas, the Chicago- based National Association of Realtors said today in a news release. The national median existing home price declined to $169,000 and distressed properties typically sold for 20 percent less than other homes on the market.
Distressed sales are increasing transactions in some markets as speculators and first-time homebuyers buy bank-owned properties. The inventory of previously owned homes on the market dropped to 3.7 million in March from 3.8 million a month earlier, according to NAR data. The number of new homes for sale fell to 311,000, the lowest since January 2002, according to the Commerce Department.
Total existing home sales fell 6.8 percent from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million units, the Realtors group said. Sales were down 3.2 percent from the fourth quarter. The figures include single family homes and condominiums and co-ops.
Seventeen states had sales increases from the fourth quarter and six states were higher than a year ago.
