UPDATE: US Home Prices Fell Seasonally Adjusted 0.5% In 1Q
May 27 2009 - 11:04AM
Dow Jones News
U.S. home prices dropped once again in the first quarter, but by
a smaller amount than in the previous quarter, a government agency
reported Wednesday.
U.S. home prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the first
quarter of 2009, compared with a 3.3% decline in the fourth quarter
of 2008. Sales prices fell a seasonally adjusted 7.1% from the
first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009, the Federal
Housing Finance Agency said.
"Our latest data are consistent with growing evidence that
housing market conditions may be stabilizing in some parts of the
country," FHFA director James B. Lockhart said in a statement.
The FHFA tracks U.S. home prices through its purchase-only home
price index. The index reflects the sales prices of home purchases
financed with Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) mortgages.
Prices fell across most regions of the country in the last
quarter, with the mountain states experiencing the sharpest
declines. The New England U.S. Census Division saw prices increase
by 1.3%.
Of the 25 most populated metropolitan areas, Miami-Miami
Beach-Kendall, Florida Metropolitan Division was hit the hardest.
Prices in that area dropped by 37.6% from the first quarter of 2008
to the first quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, prices were the most
resilient in the Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas Metropolitan Division,
rising 0.1% over that period.
-By Jessica Holzer, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9228;
jessica.holzer@dowjones.com