US house prices slump again
Further evidence of the perilous state of the US housing market came today as the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed its biggest ever year-on-year decline.
The index, which measures house prices in 20 US metropolitan areas, fell 12.7% in February from a year earlier. In February alone prices fell 2.6%.
Of the 20 metropolitan areas surveyed, 17 posted their largest ever year-on-year falls in the 8-year history of the index, with Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix especially hard hit, posting falls in excess of 20%.
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Only Charlotte in North Carolina showed a rise, with prices rising 1.5%.
The 10-cities version of the index also showed its biggest ever fall since the index was created in 1987, with prices down 13.6% from February 2007. In February alone the index was down 2.8%.
