National home values fall in Q1 of 2008MortgagePress.comFreddie Mac, Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index Purchase-Only Series, home values
Freddie Mac has announced that its Conventional Mortgage Home
Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series registered a 10.4 percent
drop in U.S. home values during the first quarter of 2008 on an
annualized basis, following a downward revised 9.9 percent
annualized drop in the fourth quarter. Over the four quarters
ending with the first quarter of 2008, home sales prices fell an
average of 4.4 percent in the CMHPI Purchase-Only Series the
largest annual fall in values over the 39-year history of the
series.
The CMHPI Purchase-Only Series excludes all refinancings in its
calculation. Freddie Mac also produces a CMHPI Classic Series,
which includes data from both home purchase transactions and
mortgage refinancings, with the latter home values based on
appraisals. The CMHPI Classic Series indicated that home values
fell 2.4 percent nationally during the first quarter on an
annualized basis, the steepest quarterly decline since 1971. Over
the year ending with the first quarter, home values depreciated 0.8
percent on average in the Classic Series, the first annual drop in
this index over the 39 years spanned by the series.
"Particularly striking has been the depth and breadth of
home-value decline across the U.S." said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac
vice president and chief economist. "In the past we have seen
regions that were still appreciating while the national average had
registered a decline. In the CMHPI Purchase-Only Series we saw all
nine regions of the country experience price declines at the same
time, though to different degrees: During the first quarter, house
prices dipped an average of 0.5 percent in the West South Central
states but fell an average of 6.9 percent for states in the Pacific
division.
"While we expect to see further declines in average home values
throughout this year and into 2009, we will be watching very
carefully for signs of stabilization in indicators of real housing
activity, such as a leveling off in home sales, now that the
traditional home-buying season spanning late spring and early
summer is underway."
Forty-six states registered price declines in the first quarter
and 29 states had declines measured from the same time a year ago,
according to the CMHPI Purchase-Only Series. Montana, North Dakota,
South Carolina and Wyoming had modest price gains during the first
quarter. In general, states in which the local economy remained
more vibrant tended to have better home-value performance than
other states.
Based on annualized quarterly growth rates in the CMHPI
Purchase-only Series, the West South Central states showed the
smallest decline in home sales prices over the first quarter at a
1.9 percent rate. The Middle Atlantic states experienced the second
smallest drop in home prices of 4.1 percent, followed by the East
South Central states which posted a 4.3 percent change. Two
divisions tied for the median change in home values at 5.9 percent:
East North Central and Mountain. The West North Central division
recorded a change of 8.6 percent in home prices and three regions
showed double digit declines: South Atlantic at 10.1 percent, New
England at 11.0 percent and Pacific at 24.8 percent.
For more information, visit www.FreddieMac.com.
