VERO BEACH — Five years ago at the peak of the housing boom, homes in Vero Beach were overpriced by 29.8 percent according to a think tank study. Today, using the same yardstick, homes in Vero Beach are among the most underpriced in the country.A report by IHS Global Insight and PNC Financial Services says homes in Vero Beach are priced 39.8 percent under fair market value according to a formula that compares median home prices, local interest rates, population densities and income, plus historical premiums or discounts that have been exhibited over time.Experts say the big swing in prices in Vero Beach is typical of a housing bubble.”I’ve done some research that shows when you get a bubble, you don’t just return to normalcy,” Richard DeKaser, who worked on the report, told CNNMOney.com. “You go past normalcy for a long period of undervaluation.”When the market was humming in 2005 the average price of a home in Vero Beach was $206,900, according to the report. Today the price is $123,300. The 39.8 percent undervalued figure for Vero Beach is second to Las Vegas where homes sell at 41.8 percent below market value. If you like to gamble, however, stay away from Atlantic City, which checked in as the most overvalued metro area in the nation at 30.2 percent over fair market value.
