Mortgage Insurance Report: Anchorage at Low Risk of Market Decline

The risk of a decline in home prices in Anchorage is 2.1%, down from 3.1% earlier last year, according to a study by the nation's leading mortgage insurance carrier, PMI. Contributing to the favorable index is a low level of price volatility compared to many markets Outside.

Mortgage insurance carriers issue insurance polices, paid for by borrowers, that offset a lender's losses when a property forecloses. Risk-based analysis is how they determine insurability in different markets.

The headline of the report, of course, is the substantial declines now happening in other markets. It isn't over in those areas that experienced unsustainable appreciation earlier in this decade, the report concludes.

Affordability in Anchorage improved somewhat in the fourth quarter of last year, based on the report's proprietary index. However, the index finds that home affordability is now slightly less than the baseline year 1995.

The full report is on-line at this link. Anchorage numbers appear in the report summary at this link.

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