Homes in the US are set to drop in value significantly by the end of the year, a new report has suggested. In total, residential prices will have fallen by USD 1.9 trillion when the year closes.
Since the market hit its peak in 2007 property prices in the country will have lost a total of USD 9 trillion the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports shows.
The bulk of the total value lost during 2010 was in the second half of the year. From January to June, the housing market lost $680 billion. From June to December, Zillow projects residential home value losses will top USD 1 trillion.
"Despite a strong start to 2010, by the end of the year homes lost more of their value in 2010 than they did in 2009," said Zillow chief economist Dr Stan Humphries. "Government interventions like the homebuyer tax credit helped buoy the market during the second half of 2009 and the first half of 2010."
Meanwhile, a separate study from Local Market Monitor highlights that prices in many US markets will have hit bottom in the third quarter, but some large metropolitan areas are still in trouble.