Home prices continued to fall in February, although at a slower pace than in January, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Index which tracks home prices for single-family homes.

“While the declines in residential real estate continued into February, we witnessed some deceleration in the rate of decline in some of the markets,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “All 20 metro areas recorded a monthly decline in February, but 16 of the 20 metro areas saw an improvement in their monthly returns compared to January. Nine of the 20 metro areas showed improvement in their annual returns compared to their returns in January. Furthermore, this is the first month since October 2007 where the 10- and 20-City Composites did not post a record annual decline. We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around.”

Cleveland fared the worst on a monthly basis, with home prices falling 5 percent there – it was the only area that saw a record decline from January.

Other metro areas where prices fell from January include: Charlotte, New York and Washington.

On an annual basis the three worst performing cities were:
* Phoenix 35.2 percent decrease
* Las Vegas 31.7 percent
* San Francisco 31 percent

These cities performed the best, but they still had declines:
* Dallas down 4.5 percent
* Denver down 5.7 percent
* Boston down 7.2 percent

And tracking from the peak prices to now – Dallas has fared the best, down 11.1 percent from its peak in June 2007; and Phoenix has suffered the most, with home prices down 50.8 percent from its peak in June 2006.

Tell us about home prices in your area.

April 28, 2009