Zillow Puts Total Real Estate Losses at $9 Trillion – Bleak 2011 Forecast for Florida Market

BRADENTON – A new and comprehensive report from real estate research firm Zillow has placed the most well-documented estimates on the loss in real estate value since the widespread decline began in June 2006 – a staggering $9 trillion.

The bad news doesn't end there. $1.7 trillion was in the last year alone and Zillow is predicting further declines in a market they don't think will bottom out until next summer.

The declines in home value (25 percent below their peak with 51 straight months of decline) are now comparable to those of the Great Depression when they declined for 60 consecutive months to 25.9 percent less than their peak value.

While there have been declines in nearly every American market, the depths of those plunges have varied. Florida has been particularly hard hit and according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, 2011 will be another tough year for our real estate market.

Case-Shiller released a list of 15 cities that they are predicting will experience the greatest drops in home values by 2012. A stunning 9 of those 15 were in Florida including No. 1 Naples where home prices are predicted to fall from their current average of $260,000 to $196,000. Other Florida cities on the list included Miami (3), Gainesville (6), Ft. Lauderdale (7), Orlando (9), Punta Gorda (10), West Palm Beach (11), Cape Coral (12) and Pensacola (13).

Related Story: Zillow Reports Sarasota Among Nation's Top Cities for Underwater Homes