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'Home prices post record 15.3% drop
Prices in 20 cities fall for 21st month in a row. One sign of hope: Pace of decline eased in many areas.
Last Updated: June 24, 2008: 11:16 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. home prices posted record declines in April, extending a painful losing streak for U.S. home prices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index fell to a record low of 15.3% on a year-over-year basis, and was down 1.4% from March. The 10-city index was down 16.3% year-over-year and 1.6% for the month.

The 20-city index is based on data going back 19 years, while the 10-city index is 21 years old.

There is one sliver of hope. Although every city surveyed posted year-over-year price drops, the month-to-month pace of declines did slow in many cities. And eight metro areas actually posted gains from March to April.

Hard-hit Cleveland was the biggest winner, with prices up 2.9%. Charlotte, N.C. posted a slight gain of 0.2%, up for the second straight month, while Dallas prices were up 1.1% in April, also up for the second month in a row.

"There might be some regional pockets of improvement, but on an annual basis the overall numbers continue to decline," said David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

Indeed, there are anecdotal reports that investors have begun to snap up distressed Cleveland properties at very low prices, according to Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington-based think tank.

"The data suggests that Cleveland has found a bottom," he said, "although it's just one month's data and I wouldn't make too much of it."

The overall price declines have been remarkably consistent through the past two years with prices on the 20-city index dropping for 21 straight months, since July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen every month since June 2006.

What's more, recent drops have been particularly steep. The 20-city index fell 2.2% in March, 2.6% in February and 2.3% in January, and now it has gone down another 1.4%.'

Lees verder: http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/24/real_estate/home_prices_CaseShiller_April/index.htm