CoreLogic Sees Glimmer of Hope for Home Prices

Home price declines are showing signs of easing but it's too early to declare a bottom, according to preliminary figures compiled by First American CoreLogic. The company released an early preview of its November findings, showing that prices declined at a rate of 9.6% in November, compared to 10.4% and 11.2% in October and September, respectively. "The consistent deceleration over the past two months with November indicating the same trend in price declines is encouraging because it could portend the trough in price declines," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic. But the economist cites continued job layoffs and a huge inventory of unsold homes as major negatives weighing on the housing market. Roughly $2 trillion in home equity has been wiped out over the past year. California cities continue to lead the pack in terms of price declines, according to the company. Salinas has suffered the most among California cities with values falling by almost 30%.