 鲜花( 17)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
NEW YORK - U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, a closely watched index showed Tuesday, a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.
! k2 y2 C% L4 l7 V: n , }( l4 o7 V+ S/ D1 N. Y5 E7 x
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the lowest since its inception in 1988. The quarterly index covers all nine U.S. Census divisions., u$ E/ _/ ^6 |% d7 t- x
& } \: w c& X. z5 a
Prices nationwide are at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2004, according to Maureen Maitland, a S&P vice president. However, the index is still up 60 percent versus 2000.3 L, W7 s7 t' k8 p; t% t
, Y0 r1 r1 b" V: c# _( n
Two narrower indices set record declines in March versus the previous year. The 20-city index tumbled 14.4 percent, the lowest since that index was started in 2001. The 10-city index plunged 15.3 percent, a record in its 20-year history.
) P: T' s4 C- l+ z( {! w7 u% H. s! O v$ E! Y! y4 g
"There are very few silver linings that one can see in the data. Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee.
4 W: T- N* [) o! G: S1 z: f9 a% X
Nineteen of the 20 metro areas reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20 percent.
- {* z) H, s3 e
7 j1 C, a- E6 nLas Vegas had the worst performance in March, falling 25.9 percent from a year earlier, followed by Miami and Phoenix. Only Charlotte, N.C., stayed above water, gaining less than 1 percent over the previous year.8 y' E/ A/ t- S: R" R
( V# W1 }- Y; Q
Last week, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said home prices fell 3.1 percent in the first quarter, the largest drop in its 17-year history and only the second quarter of price declines recorded.
0 O! d$ y3 m# }# u& T0 p2 K. S1 p+ [
The OFHEO index is narrower in scope and is calculated using mortgages of $417,000 or less that are bought or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That excludes properties bought with some of the riskier types of home loans.
+ T" @& b# V2 N) S+ k$ U
1 _3 {/ w5 [0 D( c. D(This version CORRECTS that 20-city and 10-city metro area figures are for March sted 1st quarter) )" n: D1 D8 W, V
3 H1 k0 ~" x! V' m7 W
[ 本帖最后由 水管工 于 2008-6-4 09:20 编辑 ] |
|