Home prices down nearly 3 percent

National home prices dipped for the second straight month, continuing to make moving into a new home more affordable for buyers across the country.

CoreLogic reported that national home prices in September dropped 2.79 percent compared to a year earlier. Year-over-year prices had been on the rise for the first seven months of the year, however experts say that continued struggles with foreclosures and reduced moving activity has depressed prices since then. Still, opportunistic buyers could take advantage of the extended era of housing affordability and purchase a home at a greatly reduced price.

Moving to the Chicago metropolitan area, for instance, has become more affordable after single-family home prices there declined 6.41 percent year-over-year, or 3.82 percent when excluded distressed properties. As a whole, the state of Illinois saw home prices fall 6.82 percent in September, the eighth-highest rate of depreciation in the country. Idaho led the nation in home price drops, with values there retreating 14.04 percent.

Still, certain parts of Chicago retain their higher asking prices, meaning sellers there aren't having to settle for less when moving away. A recent study by ZipRealty called the city's Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood the nation's "hottest" zip code, with homes there selling for an average 8.6 percent more than their listing price.
 

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