The composite price of housing in 25 metropolitan areas stood 5.42% lower in mid-January than it had a year earlier, according to data compiled by Radar Logic Inc., a data-tracking company.
The year-over-year change of price down to $169.75 per square foot was less than it had been in the year that ended Dec. 19, but the company thinks the declines are not over yet.
"Recently released existing-home sales figures and continued signs of weakness in mortgage application numbers suggest we have yet to find the 'psychological' bottom in the housing market," Quinn W. Eddins, Radar Logic's director of research, wrote. "Until buyers, of whom we suspect there are many, believe the imbalance of supply and demand is correcting, they will continue to push prices down by bidding below asking prices."
A slightly more cheerful note was that the December-to-January price fall was smaller than any similar period since 2007. But then came another cautionary bit of data from Eddins: "After all, we saw price declines slow in 2009, only to see them start accelerating again in 2010."
