I Thought Housing Hit Bottom In 2008?

I'll really never understand the failure to deal with this, especially as there really did seem to be win-win-win solutions.

The Zinths are wading back into a U.S. housing market where prices may fall further under the weight of foreclosures and not rebound until 2013, even as the economy builds momentum and mortgage rates remain at record lows, according to a survey of 109 economists released this week by Zillow Inc. When values do rise, the gains probably won’t match those seen in the years prior to the bursting of the bubble in 2006.

Prices for resold homes are down 31 percent since the July 2006 peak, based on the S&P/Case-Shiller Index that tracks 20 major metropolitan areas. Values have increased 3.1 percent since bottoming out in March, though more than a quarter of homeowners with a mortgage are “underwater,” or owe more than their property is worth.