New year, same downward spiral

Prices of existing single-family homes in the United States continued to slide in January 2009, with 13 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline, according to the Case-Shiller Index, a leading indicator for the housing market.

The 10-City and 20-City composite price records also set new records, with year-over-year declines of 19.4% and 19.0%, respectively.

All 20 metro areas are reporting negative monthly and annual rates of change in average home prices. The two composites, for the 10-city and 20-city indices, showed month-over-month declines (from December 2008) of 2.5% and 2.8%, respectively.

The three worst performing cities, in terms of annual declines, continue to be from the Sunbelt, each reporting negative returns in excess of 30%. Phoenix was down 35.0%, Las Vegas declined 32.5% and San Francisco fell 32.4%. Dallas, Denver and Cleveland faired the best in terms of annual declines, down 4.9%, 5.1% and 5.2%, respectively.

On a somewhat positive note, Las Vegas and five other cities are reporting slower monthly rates of decline, although their numbers are still negative.