Home prices tumbled in second quarter

Home prices continued to fall in the second quarter, according to the latest figures from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller Home Price Indexes. The data indicate that prices are still falling at record levels. The National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, fell 15.4% in the second quarter, compared with the year-over-year decline of 14.2% in the first quarter. The 20-City Composite Index showed that home prices sank 15.9% to their lowest level since July 2004, while the 10-City Composite Index fared even worse, declining 17%. “While there is no national turnaround in residential real estate prices, it is possible that we are seeing some regions struggling to come back, which has resulted in some moderation in price declines at the national level,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at New York-based S&P, wrote in a research note. Although both the 10-city and 20-city indexes posted record year-over-year declines in June, “they are very close to the values reported for May,” he wrote. The 10-City Composite Index fell 0.6% in June from May, while the 20-City Composite Index slipped just 0.5%. “These are far less than the 2%-2.5% monthly drops seen earlier in 2008,” Mr. Blitzer wrote. “The rate of home price declines may be slowing.” Las Vegas took the biggest hit, with year-over-year prices falling 28.6% in June. This was followed by Miami and Phoenix, which saw prices decline 28.3% and 27.9%, respectively. “The markets that were the highfliers during the recent real estate boom continue to be the ones that are leading the current decline,” Mr. Blitzer wrote in the report. Denver and Boston were the best performers in June, with prices rising 1.5% and 1.2% from May, respectively. Both reported four consecutive months of positive returns.