Can Housing Boosters Read? 20 Housing Facts They Can Not Deny

05-19-2011 • Ritholtz.com

1. According to Zillow, 28.4% of all single-family homes with a mortgage in the United States are now underwater. 2. Zillow has announced that the average price of a home in the U.S. is about 8% lower than it was a year ago; 3. U.S. home prices have now fallen a whopping 33% from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble.4. During the first quarter of 2011, home values declined at the fastest rate since late 2008. 5. According to Zillow, more than 55% of all single-family homes with a mortgage in Atlanta have negative equity and more than 68% of all single-family homes with a mortgage in Phoenix have negative equity. 6. U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the housing crisis first began. 7. In February, U.S. housing starts experienced their largest decline in 27 years. 8. New home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005. 9. Historically, the percentage of residential mortgages in foreclosure in the United States has tended to hover between 1 and 1.5 percent. Today, it is up around 4.5 percent. 10. According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings in the United States are projected to increase by another 20 percent in 2011.