U.S. Home Prices Down Nearly 20% in Metro Areas

(CEP News) - The S&P Case-Shiller U.S. home price index fell more than expected in January, with prices down nearly 20% from a year ago.

The 20-city composite index posted a decline of 18.97% to a reading of 146.40. Economists had forecast an 18.60% drop.

The three-month annualized rate of decline was 26.46% in January, compared to the -24.73% rate in December and the 22.41% decline in November.

The U.S. Composite-10 Index fell 2.52% in the month.

Phoenix led the way in January with a 5.50% month-over-month decline, followed by Minneapolis, which recorded a 4.75% decline. Sharp declines were also seen in Chicago, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

The smallest monthly decline was seen in Charlotte, with prices down 1.22% month-over-month. In close second was New York, which saw prices down 1.25%.

By Megan Ainscow, mainscow@economicnews.ca, edited by Stephen Huebl, shuebl@economicnews.ca

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Housing, Releases, USA.