Home prices in 20 US metropolitan areas fell in March by the most on record, pointing to continued weakness in the housing market that will further drag on the economy.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 14.4 per cent from a year earlier, more than forecast and the most since the figures were first published in 2001.
The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007.
Prices continue to slide as record foreclosures put more homes on the market and stricter lending standards make it harder to get loans. Falling home values are slowing consumer spending, threatening to halt the six-year expansion.
Prices dropped 2.2 per cent in March from a month earlier, after a 2.6 per cent decline in February, the report showed. The figures aren't adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes instead of month-to- month variations.
The group's 10-city composite index, with a history back to 1987, fell 15.3 per cent in the 12 months ended in March, also the most ever.
Nineteen of the 20 cities in the index showed a year-over-year decrease in prices for March, led by a 26 per cent slump in Las Vegas and a 25 per cent decline in Miami.
Charlotte was the only area showing a gain with a 0.8 per cent increase.
Compared with February, homes in 18 of 20 areas covered dropped in value. Prices remained under pressure in April, a report last week showed.
The median price of existing homes sold last month fell 8 per cent from April 2007, the National Association of Realtors said. Existing home sales fell 1 per cent and were 33 per cent below their peak in September 2005.
The number of unsold homes rose to its second-highest level on record. Most economists and investors say housing prices have further to fall after more than doubling in the early part of the decade to a peak in 2006.
Bloomberg