Home Prices Took Record 19% Dive in January

US home prices sank by 19% in January, the sharpest annual rate on record, and the pace continues to accelerate, the AP reports, but there were a handful of battered metro areas where price declines slowed, according to data released today. The tumble taken by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 major cities was the largest since its beginning in 2000; the 10-city index dropped 19.4%, also a new record.

All 20 cities in the report showed monthly and annual price declines, with 13 posting new annual records. But in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC—areas all ravaged by foreclosures—annual price declines eased. Six cities, including Minneapolis, Charlotte, Seattle, and New York, showed smaller price declines in January compared with December. Faring best were Dallas, Denver, and Cleveland with annual price declines around 5% in January.
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