NAR 4th Quarter 2008 Home Prices

From CNNMoney.com - "Home prices in record plunge -- (NAR 4th quarter housing price numbers chart is at the bottom of the CNNMoney.com article)":

Home prices fell 12.4% during the fourth quarter of 2008, the largest year-over-year decline since the National Association of Realtors began keeping comprehensive records in 1979.

The median price for a U.S. home sold during the fourth quarter of 2008 fell to $180,100, down from $205,700 during the last quarter of 2007.

Prices fell by a record 9.5% in 2008, to $197,100, compared to $217,900 in 2007. In comparison, median home prices dipped a mere 1.6% between 2006 and 2007.

People are taking advantage of some of the great values being offered especially in the markets that were most overheated during the boom. In fact, sales numbers have been trending higher in these overheated markets and tentatively support this notion.

"People are responding to discounted prices and are slowly absorbing the excess inventory," said NAR President Charles McMillan. "Buyers clearly see value in today's pricing."

The biggest losers:

In Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla., which has the third-highest rate of foreclosure filings in the nation, prices fell a devastating 50.8% for the year, to $110,900 from $225,300. That was the most precipitous plunge for any metro area.

In Saginaw, Mich., prices fell 41.4%. In Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., prices dropped 40.8% and in San Jose, Calif., prices declined 37.7%.

The biggest winners. Yes, some homes are appreciating and, in fact, are doing quite well in some areas. Real estate is local! The importance of this can't be reiterated enough. With that being said, I'm willing to bet most people had no idea that some markets have been performing as strongly as the housing markets identified below:

The Beaumont-Port Arthur area of Texas bucked the national trend. Its median home price jumped 16.7% to $132,600 - the highest increase in the nation. Other winners included Bloomington, Ill., up 9.6%; Dover, Del., up 6.5%; and Bismarck, M.D., up 6%.