CNNMoney.com is reporting that prices of homes are going down for the first time in 40 years.
Real estate group sees 0.7% decline in 2007, first annual drop since it began keeping track.
The Detroit market is usually seen as being really bad, but it’s actually right in the middle of the pack. Growth is forecast to be -0.2% for the next year which is bad because it’s negative but not as bad as the national average including scores of metro areas which will be experiencing much more severe shocks. For example, in the Bay Area Oakland is expected to drop 2.5%, New York City will shrink by 3.9%, Phoenix by 5.5%, and both Miami and Las Vegas will see drops of nearly 9% each. My poor cousin thought it would be a good idea to buy investment property in Las Vegas and now can’t get rid of it.
For some reason Farmington Hills is considered on its own, separate from Detroit, and is expected to see a growth of 1.2%. And Grand Rapids is expected to grow nearly 3%.