Home values in the 20 largest metropolitan areas located throughout the United States fell at the fastest annual rate ever (19.1 percent) in the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

All told, home prices have dipped 32.2 percent since the peak of the market in the second quarter of 2006.

The good news for homeowners is that the report indicates that month-to-month declines have continued to slow down; however, there is still no sign that the market has hit rock bottom. In fact, Phoenix, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Francisco, Calif., “all recorded declines of more than 30 percent.”

On the flip side, Charlotte, N.C., and Denver, Colo., each “edged up” 1 percent from Feb. to March 2009.

So what’s it all mean for you?

Well, first-time buyers and investors alike are able to take advantage of the best home prices to come around in years. And it appears that they are doing just that with foreclosure-related purchases accounting for nearly half of all recent real estate transactions.

Searching for homes on Foreclosure.com these days is like choosing from discounts on already discounted prices … it’s unbelievable. But as we’ve been telling you all along … this situation, which also includes a $8,000 government-sponsored tax credit until Dec. 1, 2009, will not last forever.

Check out all the hottest foreclosure deals in your area today before it’s too late. Click here.

… with an estimated 20.4 million homeowners in the United States who now owe lenders more than their homes are worth because of the across-the-board decline in home values, according to a recent study from Zillow.com:

” … the number of borrowers who are underwater climbed to 20.4 million at the end of the first quarter [2009] from 16.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter [2008]. The latest figure represents 21.9 percent of all homeowners, [which is] up from 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter and 14.3 percent in the third quarter.”

Obama’s plan, which is often referred to as the “Making Home Affordable” program, is intended to “stimulate” the housing market and reduce interest rates/loan amounts for homeowners struggling to meet their monthly mortgage obligations.

Typically, homeowners who are “underwater” are not permitted to refinance their mortgages, but now the has changes for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the new initiative.

To learn more about Making Home Affordable and determine whether or not you can refinance your home mortgage click here. The official “Making Home Affordable” Web site can be found right here.

Renters are among the many silent victims in the foreclosure frenzy that is currently gripping numerous areas throughout the nation.

That’s because even if renters satisfy their monthly payment obligations outlined by the property owners, it does not fully protect them from being forced from their homes if the landlords fail to pay the mortgages.

In fact, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 40 percent of the households that lose their homes to foreclosure are renters evicted after the bank takes the home from their landlord, according to the Washington Post.

It’s an alarming and unfortunate trend, which will hopefully be minimized thanks to the foreclosure prevention bill that President Barack Obama today signed into law and will extend until the end of 2012.

Here are the top-level points:

• Tenants who pay their rent on time can remain in their home until the end of their lease unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his or her own residence.
• Renters must be allowed to stay in their homes for 90 days after the foreclosure even without a lease.
• Jurisdictions that already have more stringent renter-protection laws in place won’t see the rules loosened by the new federal law.

For more on the protections for renters contained in the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act click here. To check out eviction laws in your state visit The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty right here.

That’s the latest good news from the Chicago Tribune, which recently published an article about the housing market in the “Windy City” area and how first time home buyers there are keeping it afloat with foreclosure purchases.

Here’s a snip:

“Value-conscious, first-time buyers have become key to the housing market’s recovery, and they are snapping up priced-right foreclosures despite the warts-and-all, sold-as-is condition of the properties. The glut of foreclosures has pushed down home values, so heightened interest in buying them benefits the immediate neighborhood and the overall housing market.”

Chicago — among the top five most populated cities in the United States and the largest of its kind in the Midwest — has a rich history and offers a lot to its residents and visitors alike. Accordingly, Chicago has long been a desirable (albeit sometimes expensive) place to live and establish a successful career.

So when real estate prices dip it should come as no surprise that buyers are eager to pounce on deals that perhaps only come around once in a lifetime. In fact, the article indicates that the values are so good that “attractive pricing is causing a noticeable increase in multiple offers.”

We took a quick spin through the Foreclosure.com database of possible deals in Cook County, Illinois, which is where all the best home deals in Chicago are located. And, unsurprisingly, we found several ridiculously discounted properties — check out this one right here, which is listed for just $118,750 and has a potential equity spread of $435,121!

To search our database for more great Chicago foreclosure homes and others located throughout the nation click here.