Home Prices Headed For Triple Dip?

Okay, after all this recession talk I am officially terrified of the word “dip.”

“Double-dip recession.” “Triple-dip home prices.” What used to be associated with multiple scoops of ice cream now conjures up scary images of sudden wealth decreases. But it seems the volatile housing market has not yet hit its rock bottom, and that prices for homes are headed down again for the third time since the crash.

Ultimately, it is expected that home prices will continue to drop throughout the year and into the summer- bad news if you have a house on the market. When all is said and done, the market is expected to settle at a scary 35% below its early 2006 peak. According to CNN Money, some cities will be hit far harder than others, with losses in the double digits still to come:

Naples, Fla., for example, is expected to take the biggest hit of any metro area, a price drop of another 18.9% by the end of next June, according to Fiserv. Home prices in the area have already fallen 61% from the peak.

Other cities expected to be hit hard include the not-so-lucky Las Vegas, which is expected to see home prices fall another 15.9% for a total loss of 66%; Riverside, Calif., is projected to fall another 14.8% (for a total decline of 61%); Miami is expected to decline by 13.2% (total loss: 57%), and Salinas, Calif. could drop by another 13% (for a total loss of 66%).

Home prices began to fall in earnest in 2009, with a drop of 31% before the 2010 First-Time Homebuyer Credit expired. CNN terms the latest drop as the “third (and lowest) trough for home prices since the housing bubble burst.”

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