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WSJ: Home Prices Affordable for Most in the US

  • April 22nd 2009

by Mark Wellborn

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WSJ: Home Prices Affordable for Most in the US: Figure 1

A quarterly report from research firm IHS Global Insight is showing that home prices in most states are falling back to what a typical household can afford to pay, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

From The WSJ:

“For the fourth quarter of 2008, covered by the new report, home prices are dubbed ‘fairly’ valued in 202 of the 330 markets studied. That means the average price level is within a band 14% above or below the historical norm. Twenty-one markets are ranked as ‘overvalued,’ or between 14% and 34% above the norm. And 106 markets are considered “undervalued,” or more than 14% below the norm.”

The DC area falls into the fairly valued category as the average price level is currently 2.2 percent below the historic norm.

Jeannine Cataldi, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight, told The Journal that the report “shouldn’t be read as signaling that the housing slump is over.” She notes that home prices will likely reach bottom at the end of this year or in early 2010, and then the market will probably be stagnant for awhile.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/wsj_home_prices_affordable_for_most_in_the_us/828.

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