[sunrico90]

CNN reported that Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla., market saw the biggest year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter, with prices plunging 18 percent. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla., market saw the biggest drop, with median prices plunging 19.5 percent.

This can be an opportunity to negotiate great deal with desperate sellers, or should the buyer wait a bit longer?

The most expensive market in the latest report was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., where the median home price $760,000. That was up $20,000, or 2.7 percent, from a year earlier but down $19,000, or 2.4 percent, from the third quarter and off $35,000, or 4.4 percent, from the second-quarter peak.

The cheapest market was Elmira, N.Y., where the median price was $78,400. That was off 0.5 percent from a year earlier and down 16.2 percent from the third quarter, which is when prices there peaked.

Despite the record weakness, there were some markets that showed strong price gains. The best was Atlantic City, N.J., where the median price was $339,800, up 25.9 percent compared to a year earlier.

[tallrick]

Home prices can never go too low, I say the lower the better! Money should be invested in the real economy, not realty. Real estste doesn't produce useful products, it's just an expense.

[Jammie]

California is supposed to have such beautiful weather that it'll take a lot to bring their real estate down. They're so lucky to not have the tornadoes or the hurricanes that the east coast has. BUT they do have that big fault line and it's been pretty peaceful the past couple of years. It's just so hard to know what the markets will really do. It does seem that for now the average person will reconsider buying a home in Fla. Besides the mortgage, a lot of people are aware of the high taxes and high insurance premiiums.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by Jammie

California is supposed to have such beautiful weather that it'll take a lot to bring their real estate down. They're so lucky to not have the tornadoes or the hurricanes that the east coast has. BUT they do have that big fault line and it's been pretty peaceful the past couple of years. It's just so hard to know what the markets will really do. It does seem that for now the average person will reconsider buying a home in Fla. Besides the mortgage, a lot of people are aware of the high taxes and high insurance premiiums.

Don't forget wild fires....