Regional Home Prices Drop Less Than Nationally

PHILADELPHIA PA – The overall sales price of single family homes in the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, including Montgomery County, declined three-tenths of 1 percent from August to September (2011), according to the monthly Home Price Index (HPI) published Monday (Nov. 7) by Core Logic, a provider of information, analytics and business services.

Actually, CoreLogic noted, that’s pretty good. Its national HPI showed home prices in the U.S. during the same period fell about three times as much, by 1.1 percent, and represented the second consecutive monthly decline.

On a year-to-year basis, the company said, national home prices that included the sales of distressed properties, like short sales or those in foreclosure, declined by 4.1 percent in September 2011 compared to September 2010. It follows a decline of 4.4 percent in August 2011 compared to August 2010.

“Even with low interest rates, demand for houses remains muted,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic chief economist. “Home sales are down in September and the inventory of homes for sale remains elevated. Home prices are adjusting to correct for the supply-demand imbalance, and we expect declines to continue through the winter. Distressed sales remain a significant share of homes that do sell and are driving home prices overall.”

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