More homeowners under water

A market analysis shows U.S. home values dropped nearly 10 percent in the second quarter, leaving almost one-third of homeowners who bought in the last five years “under water” on their mortgages.

“The second quarter is the sixth consecutive quarter of home value declines and we see little promise of turnaround in the short-term as the rates of decline have yet to slow and, in fact, actually accelerated in many markets,” said David Munich, Red Clay Media vice president of data and analytics.

According to the report from Houston-based HAR.com, which tracks home valuations, second-quarter prices fell 6.9 percent from last year and were 1.3 percent lower from the previous quarter. The average home value was $146,919. RCM said the median U.S. home value has not been this low since the fourth quarter of 2004.

One in four homes sold in the past year was for a loss and foreclosed homes accounted for 50 percent of all home sales.