'No Real Positive News' Seen as Home Prices Continue to Fall

Washington Post (11/28/07) P. D2; Merle, RenaeReports issued on Nov. 27 show ongoing decreases in home prices and lead some analysts to believe the housing downturn is getting worse. The Federal Housing Finance Board reported a 3.5-percent drop in the average single-family home price to $295,573 from $309,258 during the year-over-year period ended in October. Additionally, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index revealed a decline in residential values in the third quarter of 1.7 percent from the second quarter--marking the biggest plunge in the index's 20-year history--and 4.5 percent from the 2006 third quarter. "Most of the metro areas continue to show declining or decelerating returns on both an annual and monthly basis," said MacroMarkets economist Robert Shiller. Experts, many of whom believe home-price drops will extend into next year, are watching closely for an upcoming report on home prices from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.