Case-Shiller House Prices Up Slightly in January

House prices rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in January following a similar rise in December, according to the Standard & Poor's/Chase-Shiller 20-city house price index. On a non-adjusted basis, prices fell 0.4% in January following a 0.2% decline in December. Prices are down only 0.7% from January 2009 on a non-adjusted basis. "Fewer cities experienced month-to-month gains in January than in December 2009 on both a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee. "The rebound in housing prices seen last fall is fading," he said. Citicorp mortgage analyst Robert Young said, "Home prices could drop another 5% from current levels." He noted that the housing market is being negatively impacted by the large inventory of distressed properties and seriously delinquent mortgages. "Although we are not expecting a flood of foreclosures, the inventory is going to weigh on home prices for years. So we are not expecting much appreciation for quite a while," Mr. Young told MortgageWire. Of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller HPI, only Los Angeles and San Diego posted price increases in January on a non-adjusted basis. In Los Angeles, prices rose 0.9% during the month and 3.9% over the previous 12 months. San Diego experienced a 0.4% price increase in January and is up 5.9% from January 2009.