Las Vegas-area home prices fell again in February -- and remain below 2000 levels -- as measured by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
Prices locally fell 1 percent from January and were down 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, S&P reported today.
For the 20 big U.S. cities tracked in the report, prices on average declined 1.1 percent in February from January and were down 3.3 percent from February 2010.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Las Vegas prices fell 0.3 percent in February from January vs. an average decline of 0.2 percent for the cities tracked.
"From their 2006/2007 peaks, 10 metropolitan statistical areas posted new index level lows for the third consecutive month in February 2011. These are Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland (Ore.), Seattle and Tampa," S&P said in today’s report.
"There is very little, if any, good news about housing. Prices continue to weaken, trends in sales and construction are disappointing," David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement. "Recent data on existing-home sales, housing starts, foreclosure activity and employment confirm that we are still in a slow recovery. Existing home sales and housing starts rose in March, but remain close to recent lows. Foreclosure activity showed decreases in mortgage delinquencies in the fourth quarter of 2010, but are still close to historic highs."
In a market swelled by foreclosures and high unemployment (13.3 percent), today’s Las Vegas-area housing numbers confirm recent weakness in the existing home market reported by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.
On April 8 the Realtors reported that for March, the median single-family home price was $125,950, down 1.6 percent from $128,000 in February. That’s down 7.4 percent from March 2010.