For a fifth straight month in January, home prices in most major U.S. cities fell, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which were released Tuesday.
For a fifth straight month in January, home prices in most major U.S. cities fell, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which were released Tuesday.
Both the S&P's 10- and 20-city composite indices saw price declines of 0.8% in January, while eight metropolitan areas posted new lows for the month; the steepest declines were in San Francisco, Atlanta and Portland. Moreover, 16 of 19 major metropolitan areas saw average home prices fall. On the other hand, Miami, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., were the only metros to see prices increase.
As of January, average home prices across the U.S. are back to early 2003 levels. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks through January 2012, the peak-to-current decline for both composite indices is 34.4 percent.
"Despite some positive economic signs, home prices continued to drop," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of S&P's Index Committee.
Still, an analyst at Zillow.com said prices will improve throughout much of 2012. "It's going to be tempting to look at home price declines and see a still-faltering housing recovery, but that's just not the case," Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow.com, told the Associated Press. "The reality is that home prices and home sales will be moving" higher.