Home prices continue to fall in Case-Shiller Index

Housing price data from the S&P/Case-Shiller for March 2012 showed year-over-year declines for both the researchers’ indices, a pattern that has continued over the past several months. The 10-City Composite declined 2.8%, and the 20-City Composite was down 2.6%.

All three headline composites (20- and 10-City Composites, plus the national composite) ended the first quarter of 2012 at new post-crisis lows. The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, posted a 1.9% decline in the first quarter of 2012 over the first quarter of 2011.

Five cities -- Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Portland -- saw average home prices hit new lows. Phoenix posted the largest annual rate of change (+6.1%), while home prices in Atlanta fell the most over the year, down 17.7%.