The NAR announced that home values fell -15.4% year over year from June of 2008 to June of 2009. While bulls would blindly taut that the "pace" of home value declines has slowed from last month's year over year decline of -16.8%, there is still significant systemic risk in the housing market that can't be overlooked, not the least of which is that the pace of foreclosures is actually accelerating.
To give the current pace of home value declines some perspective, something that is often missing, here is what the year over year percentage change in the median home value has looked like over the past several months according to the NAR:
Jun 2008: -6.1%
Jul 2008: -7.1%
Aug 2008: -9.5%
Sep 2008: -9.0%
Oct 2008: -11.3%
Nov 2008: -13.2%
Dec 2008: -15.3%
Jan 2009: -14.8%
Feb 2009: -15.5%
Mar 2009: -12.4%
Apr 2009: -15.4%
May 2009: -16.8%
Jun 2009: -15.4%
Jim Cramer, is this what a housing bottom looks like?
Comments(1)