Expert: Home Prices Likely to Stay Flate for Year

by J. Craig Anderson - Aug. 27, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Since March, the Phoenix area housing market has taken three steps forward and one step back, according to a report issued Thursday by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
After three straight months of mild recovery, the Phoenix area housing market faltered in July, ASU reported.
The monthly ASU Repeat Sales Index was a zero in July, which means the median price of homes included in the study was the same as it had been in July 2009.
The report's author, professor Karl Guntermann, said the index is likely to remain at or near zero for the rest of the year.
"It is likely that house prices throughout the metro area will remain essentially flat for the next 12 months," said Guntermann, who co-wrote the report with Research Associate Adam Nowak. "While the improvement seen over the past 18 months isn't likely to continue, there also is no evidence that house prices will resume a downward trend, contrary to some published reports."

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