Almost every encounter I have with someone when we discuss Real Estate is that they ask how much have home values gone done. The media has painted a dreadful picture of how all homes have drastically decreased in value. In fact, in 4Q07, the national average for home depreciation has been .68%(less than 1 %). In 4Q06, the national appreciation was 5.69%. So, there really has been a decease in the increase which is not all that horrible like the media has led us to believe. The study went on to forecast that there will a 28% chance that on a national average home values will decrease. Even though this a bit troublesome, you must remember that all real estate is local. So on that note, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area has done well compared to other major metropolitan areas. For instance, in 4Q07, the homes in this area appreciated by 1.63%, while the homes appreciated in 4Q06 by 4.01%. The study goes on to predict that there is 3.5% chance that homes will depreciate over the next 2 years. The study was done by a PMI, a major mortgage insurance company. You can see the complete study here.

What are your thoughts?