Nation wide it seems like the drop in home values is slowing. According to a recent Standards and Poors report on home values, 18 of the 20 index cities lost less value over th last quarter than in previous quarters.

In looking at the chart the most critical piece of information I see is data out of Cleveland and Chicago. Both large mid western centers show a significant slowing in depreciation compared with previous quarters and in aggregate if you look at those as leading indicators for the region our decline may be slowing as well. We have reported before on Cincinnati real estate price trends and this is another report that makes us confident that the overall depreciation will most likely end with the calendar year especially if the summer sales season sees absorption of some of the foreclosed properties currently on the market.

CNN Money posted a report on the projected home value changes over the next 18 months. The news for all of Ohio is about the same; CNN Money thinks we will lose about 5% of our home value across the state in 2008 and that the market will stabilize with less than 1% value loss in 2009.

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What this mean to the average house hunter is that if you are looking to move up market, this is the time to do it! The numbers support this idea and here is an example:

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You are moving from your $150,000 house to a $250,000 house. That is a $100,000 jump. If you sell for 5% less ($142,500) and buy for 5% less ($237,500) you have a $95,000 jump. With the same houses, you will have a $5,000 savings by moving up in a down market. Further savings come into play when property taxes are assessed at the 5% lower price.