Home Price Index Drops 18.6% From a Year Ago By Tony Crescenzi About this article: The Case-Shiller index on home prices was down 18.63% on a year-over-year basis in February after a record drop of 19.0% in January. The month-over-month change was -2.17% vs. -2.80% in January and -2.55% in December. Price decreases have accelerated in recent months amid poor credit conditions, substantial deterioration in the labor market and foreclosure sales. The latest decline stands in sharp contrast to the 6.5% decline reported by the Federal Housing and Finance Agency. The differences reflect a number of factors. For starters, the FHFA's index is broader, covering far more than the 20 metropolitan markets covered in the Case-Shiller index. Moreover, the 20 markets covered by Case-Shiller are those that have seen significant price volatility in recent years. A second factor is that the FHFA's index contains only those homes that are financed by agency mortgages, which tend to be far better underwritten than... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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