'Home Prices Fall Nationally, Some Counties Gain'

The industry saw a 2.1% decline in house prices on a national level in September, with an annual decline of 13.3%, but certain counties have seen month-to-month gains, according to the latest IAS360 House Price Index for September 2008 from Integrated Asset Services LLC. However, according to the report, the data also show bright spots at the individual county level with 75 of the 360 counties showing month to month improvement in September. "Housing prices at the national and MSA levels are still seeing declines, but we're seeing positive signs at the county level, and even more encouraging signs at the neighborhood level," said Dave McCarthy, president and CEO of Integrated Asset Services. The index, which tracks 15,000 neighborhoods, shows the national picture continues to look challenging. At the census region level, results for September show all four U.S. Census regions experiencing declines in house prices, with the South and West experiencing double-digit declines annually of 11.2% and 19%, respectively. Compared to September 2007, Western and Midwestern housing prices improved slightly while the Northeast and the South continued to weaken. In September, at the census division level, all nine U.S. Census divisions posted declines. West South Central led the way with a decline of 4.5% and New England, the South Atlantic and Pacific posted declines of 3%, 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively.