Annual Rate Of Decline In Home Prices Shows Continued Slowdown In September

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Home prices in the twenty major metropolitan areas in the U.S. decreased at a slower annual rate in the month of September, according to a report released by Standard and Poor's on Tuesday, although the pace of decline was still slightly faster than expected.

The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 9.4 percent in September compared to an 11.3 percent decrease in August. Economists had been expecting prices to decrease at a 9.1 percent annual rate.

S&P noted that the index has generally seen improvement in its annual rate of return every month since the beginning of the year.

The continued slowdown in the pace of the annual rate of decline came as the 20-city home price index rose 0.3 percent on a monthly basis. With the increase, prices rose for the fifth consecutive month, although it marked the slowest rate of growth of the streak.

"We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months," said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months."

S&P said that San Francisco and Washington D.C. have reported six consecutive months of positive returns, while Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Diego were close behind with five consecutive months of positive returns.

At the same time, the report said Las Vegas remains the most depressed market, with prices in the area falling for 37 consecutive months.

On a quarterly basis, S&P noted that the National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, increased for the second consecutive quarter in the third quarter and showed further improvement in its annual rate of return.

The report said that the National Home Price Index rose by 3.1 percent in the third quarter, matching the increase seen in the second quarter.

Compared to the same quarter a year ago, the index was down 8.9 percent in the third quarter, an improvement from the 14.7 percent annual rate of decline reported for the previous quarter.

Home prices in the twenty major metropolitan areas in the U.S. decreased at a slower annual rate in the month of September, according to a report released by Standard and Poor's on Tuesday, although the pace of decline was still slightly faster than expected. The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 9.4 percent in September compared to an 11.3 percent decrease in August. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)