DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - April 13, 2010) - Integrated Asset Services®, LLC (IAS®) (www.iasreo.com), a leader in default management and residential collateral valuations, today released the latest IAS360® House Price Index (HPI). Based upon the timeliest and most granular data available in the industry, the benchmark for national house prices fell 0.6% in February.
With February's drop -- the seventh straight monthly decline -- the index is down 7.5% from July 2009, and 25% from July 2007, the IAS360's high-water mark. February's closing level is only fractionally higher than the index's closing value six years ago.
Two of the four U.S. census regions did manage modest gains in February -- the Midwest, with a 0.8% rise, and the Northeast, with a slight 0.2% improvement -- but the increases were weaker than usual for the time of the season. For their part, the South and West regions actually lost ground across what is normally a positive period, the South falling another 1.4%, and the West slipping 0.9%. Both regions have produced negative returns for seven straight months.
"By now, the normal seasonal upturn in housing activity should have begun," said Dave McCarthy, President and CEO of Integrated Asset Services. "But we're looking at trend lines for neighborhoods all around the country and we just aren't seeing the typical forces at work."
Results in a number of the nation's large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) seemed to confirm the point. The Los Angeles MSA, for example, even with a very small gain in January, doesn't appear to be following the seasonal pattern this year, most likely due to the extreme economic crisis in California. Other important MSAs, including Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver are also running counter to the typical seasonal upswing.
Analysts believe one reason home values are under pressure is that foreclosed houses are adding to the inventory of unsold homes, which compete with more expensive new housing. According to the latest published figures, more than 300,000 homes received foreclosure filings last month, and the number may reach 4.5 million total by year end.
"Residential real estate markets are a local phenomenon and easily influenced by numerous market factors," says McCarthy. "A keen understanding of what's going on at the local level is going to be absolutely critical as we move through what is arguably the most volatile time in the history of the U.S. housing market."
The IAS360 uses "next-generation" trending methodology to identify market trends earlier than any other index. IAS data includes non-conforming, bank-owned, and conventional sales transactions segmented by property type in addition to those insured by the FHA and VA. The IAS360 also considers REO transactions along with arms-length transactions. The index is published weeks earlier than competing HPIs and refreshes historical trends as new data becomes available. The IAS360 is designed to report changes when they happen for the most accurate and useful view of the U.S. housing market.
Integrated Asset Services offers full service, end-to-end mortgage service solutions including valuation and data analytics. The company's i-Series® collateral valuation platform (http://www.iasreo.com/iseries.html) delivers a comprehensive combination of collateral valuation services that individually offer distinct and critical data, and when combined, a complete view of market volatility, local expert opinions and subject value. Its data analytics provide vital data on the U.S. residential housing market.
Editor's note: IAS360 (http://www.iasreo.com/ias360.html) HPI data, charts, and interviews are available upon request. Data for 2008 and since the peak of 2006 are available at levels from national to MSA to neighborhood for a fee.
About Integrated Asset Services, LLC
IAS (www.iasreo.com) is a privately held Colorado-based corporation specializing in default mortgage services including valuation, reconciliation and full cycle REO disposition. The Company's advanced valuation and volatility technology combined with its expert professional services help its clients reduce exposure while expediting the entire asset management process. Founded by REO industry experts, IAS provides services that go beyond industry expectations, from the level of integrity of its employees to the measurably better service it routinely provides.
This press release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future results of operations and market opportunities that are based on IntelliReal and IAS' current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the company and its industry. Investors are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements as a result of the success of IAS' branding and consumer awareness campaign and other marketing efforts; competition from existing and potential competitors; and IAS's ability to continue to develop and integrate new products, services and technologies. Due to the timeliness of the data, the IAS360 House Price Index is subject to revisions on a monthly basis.
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