Miami outpaces U.S. in home price declines: report

Home prices in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall market declined by 2.8 percent in August compared to July, and stood 5.1 percent below their August 2010 levels, according to a report released today by analytics firm CoreLogic. Nationwide, prices declined 0.4 percent on a month-over-month basis in August and 4.4. percent from a year ago. Both year-over-year declines were less than the ones experienced in July, when local prices fell 5.8 percent and national prices tumbled 4.8 percent.

“Although the calendar says August, the end of the summer traditionally marks the beginning of ‘fall’ for the housing market as it begins to prepare for ‘winter,'” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “So the slight month-over-month decline was predictable, particularly given the renewed concerns over a double-dip recession, high negative equity, and the persistent levels of shadow inventory.”

Excluding distressed sales, the numbers paint a brighter picture. Nationally, non-distressed homes lost just 0.7 percent of their value and in the State of Florida the loss was just 1.4 percent.

National home prices are now 30.5 percent less than they were during the market’s peak in April 2006, CoreLogic said. — Adam Fusfeld