Home Prices Dropping 25% More before Market Hits Bottom? Not in Philadelphia

This week's cover story in BusinessWeek is very down on the nation's housing market, surmising why home prices could drop 25% more on average before the market finally hits bottom. BusinessWeek editor Peter Coy adds some good points on his Hot Property blog.

It is a scary article for many Americans, but less so for Philadelphians. We don't have the glut of homes on the market that other cities have, home values haven't decreased as much here, and we certainly aren't seeing even close to as many foreclosures as places like Arizona, California and Florida.

The good news for Philadelphia, in fact, is that we have probably reached the bottom of the market here. With close to historically low mortgage rates and a softening in prices, the stars have aligned and activity in the marketplace in picking up. Compare my appointment book from December and January, there were weekends in December when I had only 3 appointments. This past weekend...27.