Home-Price Declines Biggest on Record

Single-family home prices in the top U.S. markets declined in October at a record pace from year-ago levels, signaling that the gloom in the housing market may be far from over.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed an annual decline of 6.7% in the 10-city composite, according to data released yesterday. The previous largest decline on record was 6.3%, recorded in April 1991.

All of the top 20 U.S. markets tracked by the index showed price declines in October compared with the previous month, according to data released by S&P, which is a division of McGraw-Hill(MHP Quote - Cramer on MHP - Stock Picks). Only three markets -- Charlotte, Seattle and Portland -- showed price appreciation on a year-over-year basis.

"No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim," Robert J. Shiller, Chief Economist at MacroMarkets LLC, said in a press release. "Not only did the 10-city composite post a record low in its annual growth rate, but 11 of the 20 metro areas did the same."

The monthly figures indicate that prices in every metro area went down in both October and September. Eleven of the 20 cities, in addition to the two composite indices, recorded their single largest monthly decline on record in October. The 20-city composite showed a decline of 1.4% over September.

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