S&P: US home prices tumble a record 14.1 pct in 1Q

水管工

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.
4 j# I( ]9 G+ e
, A$ S% Q. ~! f; y; zStandard & 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.

3 n% c$ J3 u" I% u4 _# G0 IPrices 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.
" y  O# }: k: Y8 c
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.
" [8 o- G% s- P  W
"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.
3 T) Y  _6 V# G" c$ Q& l5 o
$ ~; W# `" R, w3 C# Z  x* a; ZNineteen of the 20 metro areas reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20 percent.
7 n( G) _+ Y2 ~# j
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.
* ^3 J2 [* d* N( S9 X! D
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.

( M* \' o5 h, Y7 Q* CThe OFHEO index is narrower in scope and is calculated using mortgages of $417,000 or less that are bought or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That excludes properties bought with some of the riskier types of home loans.
/ l4 D' y% y$ e/ Z/ Y
(This version CORRECTS that 20-city and 10-city metro area figures are for March sted 1st quarter) )

9 w/ B* p, O! t. ~9 {" r; {* f[ 本帖最后由 水管工 于 2008-6-4 09:20 编辑 ]

yj151