U.S. Home Values Decline in Fourth Quarter

U.S. home values fell 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 over the previous year, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines, according to the Q4 2009 Zillow Real Estate Market Report. Home values nationwide also fell 0.5 percent from the previous quarter to a median price of $186,200.

After showing at least five consecutive month-to-month increases in home values during 2009, 29 of the 143 markets tracked by Zillow showed flat or decreasing values in the second half of the year. Negative equity remained high at 21 percent of all single-family homes with mortgages.

The number of homeowners who lost their home to foreclosure peaked in December, with more than one in every 1,000 homes being foreclosed, Zillow reports. Foreclosure re-sales made up more than one-fifth of all U.S. home sales in December. Additionally, 28.5 percent of home sales nationwide sold for less than what the seller originally paid.