Home prices still getting weakerFirst time in six years that any state reported prices falling over a 12-month period, government agency says.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home prices rose in the third quarter but at a slower pace than in the second quarter, a government agency said Thursday, the latest sign that the housing market is still trying to find a bottom. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) said that housing prices nationally edged up just 0.9 percent from the prior quarter, leaving them up 7.7 percent from a year earlier. That was down from the second quarter's gains of 1.2 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.
The news follows a separate report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) earlier this month that showed that median home prices fell 1.2 percent nationwide in the third quarter. The OFHEO index differs from NAR sales stats because it measures repeat sales of the same houses while NAR tallies median prices for all homes sold during the quarter. Five states - New York, Rhode Island, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts - recorded lower prices for the quarter, according to OFHEO, with Michigan also showing a year-over-year decline of 0.6 percent. It was the first time in six years any state reported falling prices over a 12-month period, according to the agency. Among the better performing states, Idaho led the pack with an increase of 17.5 percent year-over-year. Utah had an increase of 17.4 percent and Oregon 16.9 percent. |
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