Prices to fall here less than other cities: forecast..

Prices of single-family homes in the Chicago-area will hit bottom in early 2010 after a three-year, 17.1% drop, according to a new forecast. That may not sound like good news, but it is considering how much more prices are projected to plunge in other big metropolitan areas. And prices here had already declined by 13.3% through the third quarter of 2008, meaning they don’t have much further to fall, according to the forecast by Moody’s Economy.com.
Still, it could be a while before prices here and nationwide rebound as the economy struggles to get back on its feet after the worst recession in a generation.
“We’re not really going to see a recovery before 2011 or 2012,” says Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director of industry economics at Moody’s Economy.com.
The West Chester, Pa.-based research firm developed its price forecast by using projections for key economic indicators, like unemployment and foreclosures, to estimate the future direction of the S&P/Case-Shiller index, a widely cited home-price survey based on repeat sales of the same properties. The study looked at 369 U.S. metro areas, focusing only on single-family homes. more...