Home values expected to fall 10% nationally
Unemployment and tight credit hinder recovery of market
By Roger Showley
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
The nation’s mortgage bankers painted a short-term gloomy picture of the housing market yesterday, even as they described steps they are taking to revive the home lending industry.
David H. Stevens, head of the Federal Housing Administration, told a panel at the Mortgage Bankers Association convention at the San Diego Convention Center that all signs point to a further 10 percent drop in home values by the first quarter of next year.
Panel moderator Michael D. Berman, chief executive of Boston-based CWCapital, followed up in an interview to say the 10 percent prediction applies nationally but some markets will likely do better than others.