US home prices fall, but pace of decline eases
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
WASHINGTON, Apr 28 (AFP): Home prices in major US cities fell again in February but the pace of decline eased slightly, a survey showed Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor/Case-Shiller index showed an 18.6 per cent year-over-year decline in home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas, or a 2.8 per cent decline from January levels.
In the 10 top markets, prices fell 18.8 per cent over the year and 2.6 per cent for the month.
Despite the further drop, S&P said February was the first in 16 months the indexes did not see a new record drop.
The report was consistent with other data suggesting stabilization in the housing market after two horrific years.
But S&P analyst David Blitzer said, "We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around."
The report showed home prices in major cities have fallen back to levels of late 2003, resulting from a bubble that burst after years of sizzling growth.
The Standard & Poor/Case-Shiller index showed an 18.6 per cent year-over-year decline in home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas, or a 2.8 per cent decline from January levels.
In the 10 top markets, prices fell 18.8 per cent over the year and 2.6 per cent for the month.
Despite the further drop, S&P said February was the first in 16 months the indexes did not see a new record drop.
The report was consistent with other data suggesting stabilization in the housing market after two horrific years.
But S&P analyst David Blitzer said, "We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around."
The report showed home prices in major cities have fallen back to levels of late 2003, resulting from a bubble that burst after years of sizzling growth.