Via Newsalert!Declines in Chicago area housing prices became steeper in the last 12 months, with many buyers carrying mortgages worth more than the homes they live in, according to research from the online real estate data company Zillow Inc.
The Zillow report places the top of the housing market in the region in the second quarter of 2006. It said that about a third of all homes sold in 2006 and 2007 in the Chicago area are now financially "under water," meaning their owners have negative equity in the property.
The result reflects a collapse in the national housing market in 2007 when lenders became concerned about rising defaults and tightened loan standards. It also shows the onetime popularity of loan deals that let people buy homes with little or no money down.
Overall, median Chicago area prices fell 7.3 percent in Zillow's comparison of second-quarter data from this year to last year. The marketwide median is $244,353, slightly higher for single-family properties and lower for condominiums.
The company said values here have fallen 8.8 percent since the 2006 peak. Its results cover an eight-county area that includes Northwest Indiana.
Dispatches from Chicago's south side.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Falling home prices
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