The job market in Missouri is getting more sour quarter after quarter. More layoffs are scheduled in the manufacturing and construction fields that have earned the grunt of the national financial crisis. The only consolation among homeowners is the comparatively slower drop in home values across all areas. Investors and first time buyers need to realize that pressure from rising foreclosures will continue home value’s plummet to worse figures. This is mainly due to the Alt-A mortgages that will reset this year.

St. Louis is haunted by rising unemployment benefits claims indicating the massive layoffs in the area. Technology and retail companies are facing slow demand for their products, forcing management teams to cut their workforce. Home purchases are taking a stand still this year which is the exact opposite during the property market expansion RealtyOutlook.com predicts home prices to turn sour by 11 percent more in 2009.

Springfield, the state’s third largest city, is also caught by the property market fiasco. Distressed homeowners with problems in their mortgages are facing higher risks of losing their homes this year as the housing supply is continuing to rise in the area. RealtyOutook.com is expecting a lower level of home prices that will slip further by 12.5 percent.

Columbia’s job market is slowly going into a drought as confirmed by dwindling unemployment insurance funds to support a growing number of laid-off employees in retail and manufacturing sectors. This has caused borrowers to fall behind their monthly payments and eventually lose their homes. The city won’t escape a 10.5 percent drop in home values this year as housing inventory reaches a higher number in the second quarter due to slow pick up from buyers.

Kansas City’s real estate market is hampered by a rising inventory of homes. These vacancies are slowly becoming hubs for open drug dealing among the youth. Vandalism has also reduced the values of foreclosed homes since no property custodians are assigned to report squatters. Another problem is the lack of public records that fail to register the current mortgage holders after a series of reselling in the market. Bargain homes are easy to find in the City of Fountains’ property listings and anticipate an 11 percent drop in home values this year.