Gulf Coast home prices fall 6%

Home prices in each of the Gulf Coast's major metro areas fell by roughly 6% between December 2009 and December 2010. Statewide, home values fell by 8.21%, according to CoreLogic.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers home prices declined 5.68%; in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota they fell 6.07%; and in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater they were down 6.24%.

The nation as a whole did not fare much better, as U.S. home prices fell 5.46% over the year ended in December. But at least annual data show a stabilizing market: after nationwide price drops of 13.7% and 12.7% in 2008 and 2009, home values stayed flat in 2010.

Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic, categorized 2010 as a “bumpy ride” that ended up with a 0.0% change in prices. And while excess supply continues to push prices down, “the silver lining is that the rate of decline is decelerating,” Fleming said.

But stabilization is not the same as recovery: nationwide, home prices are down 31.6% from peak values, which occurred in April 2006.