Home prices continue to tumble like rocks falling downhill, recording a 14.1 percent slide between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. The double-digit drop qualifies as the worst decline in the index’s two decades.
“The steep downturn in residential real estate continues,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of Standard and Poor’s index committee, said. “There are very few silver linings that one can see in the data. Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path, with 19 of the 20 metro areas reporting annual declines, and six of those now at negative rates exceeding 20 percent.”
The most problematic places continue to be trouble spots such as Las Vegas (down 25.9 percent), Miami (down 24.6 percent), and Phoenix (down 23 percent), all of which saw significant annual home price declines. Of the 20 major metros tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite, only Charlotte, N.C., showed positive home price growth, and it was very minimal: just 0.8 percent during the last year.
For more information and details on individual markets, visit http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/CSHomePrice_Release_052703.pdf.
Alison Rice is senior editor, online, for BUILDER magazine.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Las Vegas, NV, Miami, FL, Charlotte, NC, Phoenix, AZ.
