The LookoutHome prices tumble again
As Americans return to work after the Memorial Day weekend, they're being hit with some discouraging news: The beleaguered U.S. housing market looks further than ever from getting back to health.
Single-family home prices dropped again in March, a respected survey announced this morning. The S&P/Case Schiller index declined by 0.2 percent compared to February, just as economists had expected.
The index, which looks at home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, is now below the low it reached in April 2009, during the depths of the Great Recession. Prices in the 20 cities fell by 3.6 percent from last year--even more than economists expected.
Behind the continued weakness in the housing market, experts say, is the continuing glut of homes for sale--a legacy of the housing boom which created an excess of inventory. The still-high foreclosure rate, tight credit, and weak demand also are playing a role.
It's becoming clear that the troubled housing sector is exerting a drag on the rest of the economy. First quarter growth was anemic, and the second quarter isn't expected to be too much better.
It's also taken a toll on home ownership rates. The New York Times reports that homeownership has fallen sharply since it reached its peak in 2004, and is now back to 1998 levels, with some experts saying it could continue to fall to where it was in the 1980s.
(Real estate agent Rick Milea waits for potential buyers during an open house at a $1.5 million home he's handling the sale for in Hollywood, Fla., Sept. 20, 2008: Marianne Armshaw/AP)
