The bottom may have fallen out of Sacramento home prices, but most owners are better off than five years ago, says a new federal analysis of the nation's home prices.
Home prices remain 22 percent higher in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties than in 2003, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
They're 29 percent higher in Yuba and Sutter counties, said the second-quarter 2008 survey released Tuesday.
The quarterly OPHEO survey measures prices differently than the standard tool of median sales prices, where half cost more and half less. That method shows prices have fallen back to 2002 levels in Sacramento County, a reflection of high sales numbers of low-priced bank repos.
OPHEO measures the same homes over time.
By that standard, homes in Solano County have appreciated 17.6 percent the past five years. In hard-hit San Joaquin County, prices are only about 10 percent higher than in 2003.
– Jim Wasserman
