49
HOUSING'S
GREAT
RECESSION
RECOVERY:
STRENGTH IN
THE WEST
According to new data, the West
is reporting some of the strongest
improvements to its housing markets, as
indicated by dropping delinquencies and
foreclosures as well as increased home prices
in certain regions. SmartAsset's findings
revealed that the western part of the U.S.
fared far better than other American regions
following the Great Recession, with the top
five metro areas posting the best recoveries
all being located in Idaho, California,
Washington, and Colorado.
These Western states have all posted
the lowest volumes of foreclosures and
delinquencies, with Colorado still holding
the lowest rate at 1.74%, down from
November's rate of 1.81% according to
Black Knight's First Look at December
2019 data.
Among these top five Western regions,
which included Boise, San Francisco,
San Jose, Seattle, and Denver, each
experienced a doubling of their HPIs since
their lowest points during the recession.
Alongside drops in HPI, the states with
the fastest-growing HPIs have also seen
their delinquency rates foreclosure-related
activity drop.
Home prices, meanwhile, fell 33%
nationwide between the period of April
2006 and March 2011. The data reveals that
even though home prices have indeed begun
to rise since this low point, the uptick has
not occurred at the same pace throughout
the nation.
On the opposite end of the spectrum,
the five regions where the housing market
fared the worst were located on the East
Coast. This category was comprised of
Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Camden,
and Albany. More alarming, four of these
areas have not yet fully recovered from the
recession. Adding to this somewhat gloomy
news is the report that these four are not
alone in the struggle to revive, as the study
showed that almost 25% of the metro areas
have also not yet fully recovered from the
depression doldrums, with housing prices
in 21 of the 100 largest metro areas having
failed to reach pre-recession amounts.
