Charlotte home prices staying strong...
Charlotte housing
prices defy trend
Queen City the only exception as values slide in 20 other U.S. cities
VINNEE TONG
Associated Press
Home prices in many cities continued to plunge by record levels in January as sellers cut their asking bids and rising foreclosures took their toll -- except in Charlotte, new data showed Tuesday.
While the spring selling season usually gives the market a bounce, some analysts say any notable improvement may not come until well into the summer. U.S. home prices fell 10.7 percent in January, and the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities saw the steepest decline in the index's two-decade history.
Worst-hit were Las Vegas and Miami, both reporting 19.3 percent drops, as the regions are still paying the price for rampant speculation and overbuilding during the boom years. Those cities and 14 others, including Phoenix, San Diego and Detroit, posted record lows.
Only Charlotte squeaked by as a gainer in the Case-Shiller index, with a 1.8 percent rise in January compared to a year earlier.
Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber, said the news is a positive reflection on the Charlotte area's economy.
"I think it says we're very fortunate in Charlotte that we're continuing to attract new jobs and that our population is growing," he told the Observer.
Real estate agents and local officials cited Charlotte's history of more modest house price growth during the boom years as reasons the market was holding up now.
"We've never seen the huge double-digit appreciation," said Dot Munson, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. "We have less of a correction to make than most other markets."
That's not to say Charlotte, with roughly 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area, isn't feeling the same pressures as the rest of the nation.
"You have to try a little harder to sell more of your listings, but homes are selling," said Kristi Lee, a broker at Urban Realty LLC. "Depending on the day, the phone does not ring. Other days, it is ringing off the hook."
Nationally, the overall downbeat figures come on the heels of data released Monday showing that the median price of existing homes being sold in February fell in the largest year-over-year drop since at least 1999.
"Home prices continue to fall, decelerate and reach record lows across the nation," said David Blitzer, index committee chairman at S&P. "No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis."
Blitzer said all 20 cities S&P tracks have seen falling prices for five consecutive months when compared to the prior month. What's more, the declines are growing in severity, with 13 of the 20 cities reporting their biggest single monthly decline in January.
Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Detroit, said the tightening of loan standards has compounded the problems of too much inventory, foreclosures and worries over the economy.
"It's just a spiral that will end up taking this year to get out of," Leyrer said.
While the vast majority of homes in the U.S. are not in danger of foreclosure, the housing slump has raised concerns about a recession and has had ripple effects across the economy as consumers spend less in other areas and banks tighten lending requirements.
Areas with the biggest drops in home prices...
• Las Vegas: -19.3 percent
• Miami: -19.3 percent
• Phoenix: -18.2 percent
• San Diego: -16.7 percent
... and those holding up the best:
• Charlotte: +1.8 percent
• Portland: -0.5 percent
• Seattle: -1.3 percent
• Dallas: -3.3 percent
Source: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. January 2008 with January 2007.
Staff writer Kirsten Valle contributed to this article.