Columbus Home Values See The Smallest Decline In The State...Prices Should Start Edging Up Soon

clipped from www.dispatch.com "I think we're near a bottom, but we're not there yet," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. While prices could hit bottom as soon as this summer, he said, they are likely to remain stable and start edging higher slowly. Home sales fell in all but six states - Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and Minnesota - where buyers have been able to snap up foreclosures at a deep discount. Sales more than doubled in Nevada, rose 81 percent in California and grew 50 percent in Arizona - signaling that the worst may be over for those distressed states. Of Ohio's major cities, Columbus home prices have dropped 10.4 percent to a median of $118, 300. Cincinnati recorded a drop of 17.1% to $106,500. Home prices fell 31.5 percent to $69,900 in Cleveland and 27 percent to $65,500 in Toledo, the report shows. "We expect a measurable increase in home sales during the second half of the year, which would help stabilize prices in most areas," Yun said in a statement.