Pioneer Press Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02:48 -0600
Twin Cities home prices nosedived in February â€" a boon to would-be homebuyers, but a nightmare for owners watching their equity evaporate.
Twin Cities home prices posted a double-digit decline in February â€" the steepest drop since the area's prices started contracting in late 2006. ... Realtors characterize it all as a painful, necessary correction to bring a bloated housing market back to reality. Greg Bauman, president of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors, went so far as to say the Twin Cities is nearing the end of its correction. Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis, differs. "I think we're less than half way through this nationally, and probably locally as well," Anderson said. "What we're most worried about is the rising number of households that are 'under water.' " By "under water," Anderson means homeowners owing more on their mortgages than the house is worth. Moody's Economy.com estimates that by the end of March, about 8.8 million homeowners across the country â€" 10.3 percent of all U.S. homeowners â€" will owe at least as much as, or more than, their home is worth.
[[keywords: Housing;Living;PropertyTax;Metro;]]
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