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.
) y& @* b8 c$ S# Y8 k( `
7 M2 _* E1 N9 r/ PStandard & 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.
5 ], f3 }# s5 ]* M8 ^
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.
  O6 q  |6 U& A% A8 \
. j4 Y6 B# A# J1 {& u! I% xTwo 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.
/ S" p  F8 z, J
6 {5 d6 J: O- |/ U  F' k# b- [- H( y3 b"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.
  e. m7 G) o5 S; [2 {/ {
, o: a/ F4 t& {* O  VNineteen of the 20 metro areas reported annual declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more than 20 percent.

4 F6 z( L! W+ T+ m/ CLas 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.

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.
, W. I" q0 h. Q! R  D  l) _6 y
. y/ B8 H' ]% _% M3 j; C' ?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.

6 W* Q2 M9 g6 m% A(This version CORRECTS that 20-city and 10-city metro area figures are for March sted 1st quarter) )
* a4 G( V- S! v' a0 o
[ 本帖最后由 水管工 于 2008-6-4 09:20 编辑 ]

yj151