Home Prices in Ohio Continued to Decline in Third Quarter

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite signs of economic recovery, home prices across Ohio continued to decline in the third quarter of 2011, falling 2.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest data from Fiserv, Inc. The figures were released today by Home Value Insurance Company, which offers Home Value Protection, the first insurance policy in the country to protect homeowners from local housing market declines.

“Nobody wants to sell their home when market values are down, but unfortunately, you can’t always foresee when you may need to move. Just as homeowners insurance protects against uncontrollable perils, Home Value Protection insurance safeguards against uncertainty that can be financially devastating”

“The decline in home prices over the past year represents a loss of more than $12 billion in value for Ohio homeowners,” according to Scott Ryles, CEO of Home Value Insurance Company. “Over $2 billion of this loss occurred in the third quarter alone, when home prices dropped another 0.43 percent.”

“Unfortunately, underlying the decline in housing prices is the disappearance of thousands of dollars of savings that Ohioans have invested in their homes,” said Ryles. “We estimate that over the past year the typical Ohio homeowner lost $3,200 in home value.”

The data released today supplements findings from the S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices 20 City Composite, issued December 27, 2011, which showed that national home prices were down 1.2 percent from September to October and down 3.4 percent over the prior year.

The third quarter results for Ohio and for major Ohio cities as tracked by Fiserv are summarized below:

	Q3 2011 Change	1 year change
	(vs. Q2 2011)	(vs. Q3 2010)
Ohio	-0.43%	-2.36%
Akron	0.68%	-1.51%
Canton	2.10%	2.60%
Cincinnati	0.96%	-2.64%
Cleveland	-0.42%	-3.53%
Columbus	-0.50%	-1.31%
Dayton	-0.92%	-2.30%
Toledo	-0.52%	-2.93%

Source: Fiserv

With the availability of Home Value Protection insurance, Ohio homeowners are now able to protect their largest investment from housing market risk.

“Home Value Protection policyholders represent a broad selection of Ohio homeowners, with homes ranging in value from $60,000 to over a half million dollars,” said Ryles. “Many policyholders live in areas where the housing market continued to decline in the third quarter. In the past 90 days, these homeowners were able to protect against an average decline in home value of $1600.”

A state-wide survey of Ohio homeowners conducted by Home Value Insurance Company in October revealed that for 67 percent of respondents, their home is their biggest investment, and 72 percent rank declines in housing market value as the biggest risk to their home, significantly higher than fire (12 percent), tornadoes (10 percent) or floods (5 percent).

“Our policyholders understand that housing prices have a history of being volatile, and with the majority of their savings locked up in their home, they don’t want to risk their financial well-being to an uncertain market. Most homeowners can now protect their home’s value for as little as a $1-$2 a day, making a Home Value Protection policy a prudent purchase,” said Ryles.

“Nobody wants to sell their home when market values are down, but unfortunately, you can’t always foresee when you may need to move. Just as homeowners insurance protects against uncontrollable perils, Home Value Protection insurance safeguards against uncertainty that can be financially devastating,” said Ryles.

About Home Value Insurance Company and Home Value Protection insurance: Home Value Protection is a property and casualty insurance policy that protects homeowners from declines in local market values. The insurance is underwritten and offered by Home Value Insurance Company, a licensed, admitted carrier in Ohio, regulated by the Ohio Department of Insurance, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Home Value Protection, Inc. Home Value Protection insurance is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Indices, Fiserv, or any of their affiliates, and they make no representation regarding the advisability of purchasing Home Value Protection insurance. Standard & Poor’s®, S&P®, Fiserv®, Case-Shiller®, and related trademarks used with permission.