Home prices sink to 2002 levels

(MoneyWatch) After last week's mixed housing news, home prices released today further speculation that a housing recovery is a long way off. According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday, home prices fell again in February.

Nationally, home prices are back to where they were in late 2002 for the 20-city composite index, and early 2003 levels for the 10-city composite.

Why the housing recovery remains a long way off
Will short sales save the housing market?

Home prices fell year-over-year in February in both the 10- and 20-city composites. Prices in the 10-city index fell 3.5 percent, and fell only slightly more -- 3.6 percent -- in the 20-city composite. If there's any upside to the price drop it's that prices fell less year-over-year in February than in January. From January 2011 to January 2012, prices fell 4.1 percent in the 10-city composite and 3.9 percent in the 20-city composite.

"While there might be pieces of good news in this report, such as some improvement in many annual rates of return, February 2012 data confirms that, broadly-speaking, home prices continued to decline in the early months of the year," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, said in the report Tuesday.

He notes prices in nine MSAs and both composite indices hit new lows in February.

"Atlanta continued its downward spiral, posting its lowest annual rate of decline in the 20-year history of the index at 17.3 percent," Blitzer wrote in the release.

"Phoenix and Atlanta stand out this month in terms of their contrasting relative strength and weakness in the early 2012 housing market. At one of the spectrum, we have Atlanta posting a double-digit and lowest on record, annual rate at 17.3 percent," he said in the report. "Atlanta has now recorded five consecutive months of double-digit negative annual rates and seven consecutive monthly declines."

"On the other hand, Phoenix has posted two consecutive months of positive annual rates, with its latest being 3.3 percent, and five consecutive positive monthly returns."

The good news ends there. Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa reached new year-over-year lows in February, after posting record-low annual home price drops the month before. Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas have average home prices below their January 2000 levels.

Your homeowners insurance policy and Fido
Spring real estate market predictions and news

Prices in February also fell month-over-month in most cities surveyed. Only three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) posted price increases: Phoenix, Miami and San Diego. Phoenix had the highest increase in home prices at 1.2 percent. Miami posted an increase in home prices of 0.6 percent, and prices in San Diego rose 0.2 percent.

News of falling home prices is never good, but it's not surprising. Banks are beginning to move more foreclosures through the pipeline, and those foreclosures put downward pressure on home prices as a whole. Some lenders are more willing to accept short sales, but that still means homes selling at below-market prices.

It's bad news, but hopefully this means we're near the bottom. Home prices fell month-over-month in most MSAs, but prices declined at a slower rate annually in February. The sooner we hit bottom, the faster we'll be able to begin a recovery in earnest.

[porfiriozrudd]

I can't tell you how often I've heard from people who say, "I've played by the rules. I've never missed a mortgage payment even though my home is underwater. Where's my bailout?" It's been absolutely crazy that there's been help for those who don't pay, but not for those who do pay. Now there is help check 123 Refinance

[venusvegasvada]

Behold the result of all the greed. Congratulations.

All the wasted trillions of dollars and ridiculous flipping of real estate all for what? So the rich could line their pockets and stick everyone else with the bill.

That funny feeling everyone had in their stomachs between 2000 and 2008 that something was seriously not right was 100% correct. If we felt it, you know the @#$@-master minds in Wall Street sure knew it.

There is no free lunch. You have to earn profit. It just doesn't double and triple or more overnight. Well, at least if your not a Wall Street CEO or banker.

Thanks to all the folks at Wall Street and the Govt for engineering the worst financial disaster the world has ever seen.

Repealed the Glass-Steagall Act (1932 to 1999).
Instated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (1999 to present).
Instated the Commodity Futures Exchange Modernization Act of 2000 (2000 to present).

Thanks for not ending the experiment either.

Nothing shows that the Govt. is truly owned by Wall Street and the Rich more than this.

The experiment failed. These huge financial companies are too big to control. End the experiment.

Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act.
Repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the CFEM Act of 2000.

We won't be on a solid foundation until you do it.

[vsmit]

Too big to control? Have you looked at the federal government lately? $1.3T deficit in 2011 and projected for 2012. The Obama experiement is NOT working.