Tax assessors are starting to revalue properties downward because of the falling home prices, taxes will follow.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - With home values way down people are looking to tax assessors to get a break on their property taxes. Many municipalities' tax bills are due in May, and the tab for 2009 could be lower.

As a rule, city and county assessors reappraise property values annually or biannually, using recent sales of comparable homes in the neighborhood to set values. So in areas that have seen significant drops in home prices, appraisals - and thereby property taxes - could also drop.

Read more »

May 26 (Bloomberg) - Housing slump extended as home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell more than forecast in March.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index decreased 18.7 percent from March 2008, matching the drop in the year ended in February. The measure declined 19 percent in January, the most since data began in 2001.

Foreclosures continue to depress the value of other properties, contributing to a slump in household wealth that is hurting consumer spending and the economy. Helping to bolster sales, falling prices and mortgage rates have made homes more affordable, helping to stem the slide in sales, which will eventually help prices stabilize.

Read more »

Surge in sales of lower-priced homes indicate a healing housing market

Read more »

http://www.orlandofloridarealestatehomes.com/009777

Home prices must stabilize before the broader economy can turn around, a panel of housing and economic experts said yesterday at a real estate summit hosted by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® as part of its Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., this week.

Although there are encouraging signs in the housing market-including a pick-up of home sales in previously hard-hit markets, record affordability, and continuing low interest rates-prices have not yet hit bottom.

To put a floor under the market, the federal government must continue to intervene, panelists said, and expanding the first-time homebuyer tax credit is a good place to start. The credit should be expanded to all households, including those with higher incomes, increased significantly in value, perhaps to $15,000 to $16,000 instead of the current $8,000.

Read more »

 (May 11, 2009 - Orlando, FL) Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association in April sold nearly seven times more homes in the lower-price range categories than in the upper categories, which according to economists is typical of a rebounding market.

"Orlando's housing market appears to be following a recognized healing pattern - from the bottom up - as evidenced by the greater number of sales in the lower-price categories," explains ORRA President Les Simmonds, L.G. Simmonds Real Estate Corp. "For example 75 percent of homes sold in April were purchased for less than $200,000, while 10 percent sold for more than $300,000. And, we expect the ratio of sales of lower-priced homes to increase exponentially as more and more first-time homebuyers seek to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit."

Sales activity in the lower-price categories gradually stimulates sales in other categories as sellers who want to become trade-up buyers are able to sell their current homes.

Forward-looking factors also indicate an improving market: REALTORS® filed 3,412 new contracts in the month of April, nearly double than the number of contracts that were filed in April 2008 (2,012), and are awaiting the closing of a record 5,818 pending sales. There were 103.90 percent more homes under contract last month than in April 2008 (2,853).

The 1,741 completed closings in April is a 41.43 percent increase compared to April 2008 (1,231) and a 0.74 percent decrease compared to last month (1,754). Year to date, there have been 42.58 percent more sales than by this time last year (5,867 to 4,115).

Read more »