Home prices fell in March, capping a 2 percent decline during the first quarter of 2012 and putting prices off 1.9 percent versus the first quarter of 2011, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
Home prices now stand at a post-crisis low. The S&P's 10- and 20-city composite indices posted respective annual returns of -2.8 percent and -2.6 percent in March, but compared with prices in the previous month, the changes were minimal.
Five cities-Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Portland-saw average home prices hit new lows in March. Phoenix posted the largest annual rate of change, up 6.1 percent, while home prices in Atlanta fell the most over the year, down 17.7 percent.
"While there has been improvement in some regions, housing prices have not turned," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. "There are now seven cities-Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix-where the annual rates of change are positive. This is what we need for a sustained recovery; monthly increases coupled with improving annual rates of change. Once we see this on a broader level we will be able to say the market has turned around."
