Despite a recent uptick in national home prices, Clear Capital reported that home values are down 3.2% for the first six months of this year, and the real estate data firm is projecting another 2.4% decline through the second half of 2011.
In the second quarter, home prices increased 0.9%, helping to stabilize the market.
"At the midpoint of the year, it's promising to see the overall market shake off the string of declines observed since late last year, especially in light of significant challenges for the industry," said Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital. "However, we have yet to see the burst in consumer demand to avoid posting a net loss in national prices for the year."
Clear Capital believes home prices at the local level will show more stability during the second half of the year. For example, nine of the 15 lowest-performing markets are expected to maintain or slow their price declines compared with the first half of the year.
