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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. * S2 a# c& \* H$ V3 P" z% K
1 X: x/ u# r9 n! X; V, m4 z# b7 @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.
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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 2000.2 p/ y7 y6 X% |0 t, `) s- g% i- q
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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.4 a- o1 O/ w% y* R) g6 p
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"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.
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Nineteen of the 20 metro areas reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20 percent.5 v5 P' M8 X! r3 m
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Las 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." K& `6 B( t' e$ k/ a/ d9 ?' ?
% Y; q# n( z5 K0 }7 z/ X5 o- uLast 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.' w% Y) L; o# B X- Q( P$ w
9 D/ w* T3 x h) y5 G0 AThe 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.
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(This version CORRECTS that 20-city and 10-city metro area figures are for March sted 1st quarter) )
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+ b- ^5 Q6 ]& q1 r+ S( ?" t7 j[ 本帖最后由 水管工 于 2008-6-4 09:20 编辑 ] |
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