New-home prices reach historic low

New-home sales prices have reached an historic low, based on records kept as far back as 1963 – and further declines are forecasted.

The information comes from the Census Bureau’s  American Housing Survey.

The study, which examines the housing market strictly from the view of homeowners rather than from real estate or mortgage industry perspective, provided an eye-opening snapshot.

The median value of the average owned home stood at $170,000 in 2009, down from $191,471 in 2007, an 11 percent decline.

The Pikes Peak region outpaced its national counterparts, however, with a $192,500 median home sales price for December 2009, according to the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. The median sales price was even higher for August 2010 at $205,000.

As home values have fallen, mortgage loans have increased as a percentage of value, according to www.newstrategist.com. In 2007, homeowners with a mortgage owed 54 percent of the value of their home. By 2009, the figure had grown to 63 percent. The owners of new homes experienced an even larger increase in their loan-to-value ratio, which climbed from 73 to 86 percent.

The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their home is worth more than doubled during the two-year period, rising from 5 to 12 percent of homeowners with mortgages. Among the owners of new homes, the percentage of those who owe more than their home is worth tripled between 2007 and 2009, rising from 8 to 24 percent.

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