lowrate.com

A new report brings the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill on the housing market in that region into clearer focus.

Homes in the coastal counties around the Gulf are the ones that will see the greatest decrease in property values this year and in the immediate future, according to CoreLogic, a real estate research firm. The company is confident that at least $648 million in home values is sure to be lost this year on homes that were already affected by the spill.

But with oil still travelling across the Gulf, additional damage could create $3 billion in losses over the next five years. In the unlikely event that oil finds its way around the Florida Keys and up the Atlantic coast, homes in prime real estate locations like Miami and Key West could lose as much as $13.5 billion. That worst-case scenario would pin the total loss figure at $28 billion over five years, said the company.

In the wake of the oil spill, many local and national mortgage lenders extended foreclosure moratorium periods and offered modification help to homeowners who experienced property damage.