Home prices across the U.S. continued their descent in the third quarter, with the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index posting an annual decline of 3.9% through September, an improvement over the 5.8% annual decline posted in the second quarter. From its peak in the second quarter of 2006, the National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, has fallen 31.3 percent.
In the near-term, the National Home Price Index improved just 0.1 percent from where it was in the second quarter, putting home prices at the same level as 2003's first quarter.
Most major metropolitan areas across the U.S. recorded lower annual declines in September compared with August, including Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay, Fla. Detroit and Washington, D.C., were the only two metropolitan areas to post positive annual price rates: 3.7 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.
"Nobody should be surprised by further home value losses in the remaining balance of this year and into next year," said Stan Humphries, chief economist with Zillow, a real estate research firm. "Despite record high affordability of real estate, the psychology of home buyers is still being weighted down by economic uncertainty, keeping them on the fence when it comes to buying homes."
