Home value declines slowing down

The latest home price index from Lender Processing Services  shows a slight 0.8% decline in home prices in October. Early data also suggest home price declines stabilized even more in November with a slight dip of 0.5% nationally.

The optimism should be taken with a note of caution. After surveying 13,500 different ZIP codes across the country, LPS found home prices rose in just 6% of the designated areas. The national average home sale price in October hit $200,000, which is a 2.7% drop from the start of 2011.

LPS reports that the value of America’s housing inventory fell 30.1% over the past five years, with the entire market now worth $7.5 trillion, compared to $10.6 trillion in June 2006.