Home values across the U.S. fell 0.2% in the third quarter, signaling more trouble ahead for the mortgage and housing industries, according to the latest House Price Index from Integrated Asset Services.
The Northeast was the only region – based mostly on isolated gains in the New York and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas -- to report positive movement.
In the Midwest prices fell 1.4%. In the West, despite scattered value gains in California, prices slipped 0.5%. In the South the decline was 0.4%.
IAS says that in the West (which includes California and Las Vegas, two of the hardest hit areas in the nation), values are down almost 28% from their peak, making the region the worst performing in the nation.
Two of the worst performing locales include Monterey County in California (down 41% from the peak), and Lee County, Florida, which is off 39%.
"Our granular data have been telling us all along that the housing crisis is not over," said Ryan Tomazin, president of IAS. "The worst may be behind us, but I have to think this combination of slowing home sales in the middle of a generally weak economy will make it very difficult for the market to recover any time soon."
