IAS360 Home Price Index: September 2008 Report - Housing Prices Continue to Decline

As reported by Marketwire - "County Level IAS360 House Price Index Data Showing Promise Amid Worsening Housing Market in September":

Integrated Asset Services, LLC (IAS, www.iasreo.com), a leader in default management and residential collateral valuation, today released its IAS360 House Price Index for September 2008. The monthly report, which includes the most current and granular data available in the industry, showed a 2.1% decline in house prices on a national level in September, with an annual decline of 13.3%.

(Click on housing price index chart for better viewing)

Perhaps a housing bright spot noted at the local level?

"Housing prices at the national and MSA levels are still seeing declines, but we're seeing positive signs at the county level, and even more encouraging signs at the neighborhood level," said Dave McCarthy, President and CEO of Integrated Asset Services. "A review of the IAS360 House Price Index county level data, which is an aggregate of the 15,000 neighborhoods we track, provides insights into pockets of the country that may be showing signs of improvement."

It's no surprise that some neighborhoods are potentially beginning to show signs of improvement. Prices have been battered in many locales and if you can get a loan (which plenty of people still can), rates remain cheap. If you can negotiate at least a 10-20% discount (plenty of opportunities to do so) from the true market value (consult local experts to get REAL COMPS) of the home you are looking to purchase and you are planning to live in your newly purchased home over the next handful of years, our money bets on your success.