Home prices, which dropped in in 2010, should continue to fall in 2011, according to a new report from Clear Capital, a researcher that serves financial services companies.
Nationwide, home prices dropped 4.1 percent in 2010, according to Clear Capital's monthly home data index. The company is projecting a 3.7 percent drop this year.
The Sacramento region saw a 1.4 percent drop in home prices for 2010, the firm said. Clear Capital is projecting a further drop of 3.1 percent this year.
"In terms of home prices, this past year has certainly been characterized by uncertainty," Alex Villacorta, a Clear Capital senior statistician, is quoted as saying in a press release accompanying the new figures. "Tax incentives and high levels of distressed sale activity had counter effects on home prices which contributed to the fragility of the markets."
High unemployment and the volume of bank-owned properties on the market depressed the market in 2010, a year that was also marked by volatile swings in home prices from month to month, according to the report. Prices should be more consistent in 2011, the report states.
Unemployment will continue to put downward pressure on home prices in California and other western states, as will the continued dump of distressed properties onto the market, according to Clear Capital.