Home prices decline for 3 months in a row

October home prices fell for the third straight month, according to an index maintained by mortgage data aggregator CoreLogic.

The 3.93 percent year-over-year decline in the CoreLogic Home Price Index was significantly greater than the 2.43 percent slip registered in September, and left home prices down 30.2 percent from their April 2006 peak.

Excluding distressed sales, national home prices were down 1.5 percent in October 2010 compared to a year ago, with a 20.9 percent decline from peak.

Continued home-price weakness reflects the lingering impact of the artificial support provided by homebuyer tax credits in the spring, and their subsequent withdrawal, said CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming. Stubbornly high unemployment and seasonal factors are also coming into play, he said.

Combine those factors with high shadow and visible inventories, and "the prospect for a housing recovery in early 2011 is fading," Fleming said.

The five states with the greatest year-over-year depreciation in October were Idaho (-15.06 percent), Alabama (-9.3 percent), Oregon (-8.5 percent), Arizona (-8.25 percent) and Florida (-8 percent).

The five states with the highest appreciation were Wyoming (5.67 percent), North Dakota (5.35 percent), Hawaii (2.97 percent), New York (2.93 percent) and Vermont (2.84 percent).

The CoreLogic index covers 572 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) where 85 percent of total U.S. population lives. The index showed prices falling in six out of 10 the nation’s largest CBSAs — five if distressed property sales were excluded. 

CoreLogic October Home Price Index — 10 largest markets

Source: CoreLogic