Case-Shiller: Home prices down from February 2011

Data through February 2012, released today by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case- Shiller Home Price Indices showed annual declines of 3.6 percent and 3.5 percent for the 10- and 20-city composites, respectively. This is an improvement over the annual rates posted for the month of January, -4.1 percent and -3.9 percent, respectively.

In addition to the two composites, 15 of the 20 MSAs posted better annual returns in February compared to January; Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit fared worse in February and Washington DC’s rate remained unchanged. Nine MSAs and both composites posted new cycle lows as of February 2012. Atlanta had the only double-digit negative annual at -17.3 percent. This was the fifth consecutive month of double-digit negative returns for Atlanta and the lowest annual return in its 20-year history.

Five of the 20 MSAs saw positive annual returns – Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix. Phoenix, which is one of the cities that fared the worst during the crisis, has now posted two consecutive months of positive annual returns and five consecutive positive monthly returns. However, it is still down 54.2 percent from its peak.

To read the rest of S&P’s report, click here.