According to the latest Zillow real estate market reports, home values in Nashville decreased 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the first quarter of 2008. Nationally, home values decreased 14.2 percent during this same period and have fallen 21.8 percent since the market peak in 2006. Additionally, one-fifth (21.9%) of all homeowners in the United States is in negative equity, and one in five homes sold in the past 12 months was a foreclosure.
According to Zillow’s just-released Q1 Homeowner Confidence Survey, 60 percent of U.S. homeowners believe their home has lost value in the past 12 months. In reality, 80 percent of U.S. homes have declined in value over the past 12 months.
I realize that saying Nashville home owners are lucky to have only lost 5.6 percent of their value over the past year is not very pleasant to hear. I also realize that saying “it could have been a lot worse” is a cliche you also don’t want to hear, but in this case, I cannot find other words to accurately describe the situation. Nashville is bucking all national averages and keeps getting listed in many national publications as one of the best places in the United States to own a home.
