U.S. home prices declined at the fastest annual rate on record in the first quarter of the year, new figures showed Tuesday, but the pace of month-to-month declines did slow slightly. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller National Home Price index reported home prices fell 19.1 percent in the first quarter, the fastest drop since the index began 21 years ago. Home prices have fallen 32.2 percent since their peak in the second quarter of 2006. Current price levels are about that seen at the end of 2002. The 20-city survey fell by 18.7 percent in March from the year before and the 10-city index lost 18.6 percent, AP reported. The declines were less than in February and marked the second straight month that the indexes didn't post record drops. However, the figures were overall a bad sign about the health of the housing sector, and suggested that the market has yet to hit its bottom. All 20 cities surveyed showed monthly and annual price declines, with nine setting annual records. Fifteen cities posted double-digit drops and three cities and Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco all recorded declines of more than 30 percent.
