Dados Eua : More home markets 'extremely' overvalued

[notiCIas]

Still-rising prices and interest rate leave dozens of markets in dangerous territory, according to a new report.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
September 21 2006: 10:03 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite a cool-off in home prices, more markets are overpriced than ever, according to a new survey.

Higher interest rates, especially for adjustable rate mortgages, helped push some housing markets into the overpriced category last quarter, according to Jeannine Cataldi, an economist with Global Insight, which conducted the analysis with National City.

Furthest to fall?
The 10 most overvalued housing markets, according to Global Insight and National City. 
City State Median price Percent overvalued
Naples Florida $389,200 101.5%
Bend Oregon $296,700 89.3%
Salinas California $618,400 79.4%
Merced California $295,400 78.4%
Madera California $311,000 76.9%
Port St. Lucie Florida $240,800 74.0%
Stockton California $346,600 73.9%
Santa Barbara California $638,300 72.8%
Miami Florida $292,800 70.8%
Punta Gordo Florida $210,900 70.2%


Source: Global Insight/National City Housing Valuation Analysis 
The survey also takes into account differences in population density, relative income levels and historical valuations. Markets with premiums above 34 percent of "fair value" were deemed at risk for price corrections.

"Price growth will have to be stagnant while income and employment rises for housing valuations to fall," said Cataldi.

Despite a substantial cooling of real estate markets, home prices were still 10.6 percent higher nationwide than a year ago, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Seventy-nine of the 317 markets studied in the Global Insight/National City report were judged to be "extremely overvalued", up from 68 during the first quarter.

The pace of housing price increases has definitely slowed. More than two thirds of the markets - 219 metro areas - saw a decline in the rate of price appreciation during the second quarter, according to the report.

"Significant slower appreciation, or outright declines, among overvalued markets are a signal that we are in the early stages of a correction," said Richard DeKaser, National City's chief economist.

DeKaser suspects that this correction will be gradual but lengthy and the oldest bubble markets are the shakiest. "What we see happening is that markets early to the boom - Boston, California - are now showing adjustments," said DeKaser.

On the other hand, "Some of those late to the party such as North Carolina, are still showing heady appreciation."

Naples remains the most overvalued market in the nation, deemed 101.5 percent above what National City considers fair value. Bend, Oregon was second to Naples, 89.3 percent overvalued.

The five most undervalued markets were all in the state of Texas, with College Station, at a discount of 22.3 percent from fair value, leading all others. Dallas (21.2 percent) was second.