Daily Real Estate News  |  September 27, 2007  |   Another Survey Finds Home Prices Heading Down
Home prices in major U.S. cities are falling at the fastest rate since 1991, according to the Case-Shiller home price index, reported yesterday by Standard & Poor’s.

For 20 major cities, prices fell 0.4 percent in July and are down 3.9 percent over the past year.

The index tracks multiple sales of the same homes. The last time home prices fell this much it required more than eight years for home prices to climb back.

"There's no end in sight, but it's not a disaster for most people," says Robert Shiller, chief economist for MacroMarkets LLC.

Here are the 20 cities covered by the Case-Shiller index, ranked from worst to best:

Detroit, down 9.7 percent:
Tampa, Fla., down 8.8 percent;
San Diego, down 7.8 percent;
Phoenix, down 7.3 percent;
Washington, down 7.2 percent;
Miami, down 6.4 percent;
Las Vegas, Nev., down 6.1 percent;
Los Angeles, down 4.8 percent;
San Francisco, down 4.1 percent;
New York, down 3.8 percent;
Cleveland, down 3.6 percent;
Minneapolis, down 3.4 percent;
Boston, down 3.4 percent;
Denver, down 0.7 percent;
Chicago, down 0.9 percent;
Dallas, up 0.7 percent;
Atlanta, up 1.2 percent;
Portland, Ore., up 3.8 percent;
Charlotte, N.C., up 6 percent;
Seattle, up 6.9 percent.

Source: MarketWatch, Rex Nutting (09/27/2007)