Index: Home Prices Down 10.7%

Home prices declined 10.7% nationally over the past 12 months, according to the latest LoanPerformance Home Price Index. "Given our home price expectations for the remainder of this year, we expect 2.7 million preforeclosure and foreclosure filings in 2008, up nearly 50%" from the level recorded in 2007, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company that compiles the index. "Nominal home price declines have stabilized in the 10% to 11% range for several months. However, given the surge in inflation, real inflation-adjusted home prices are still declining at a faster rate." He said 37 states are experiencing price declines, and that homes in California and Nevada are depreciating at an annualized rate of more than 20%. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale headed the index's list of top metropolitan areas with 12-month home price declines with a 26.6% decrease. The LoanPerformance HPI provides monthly home price indices and median sales prices covering 7,569 ZIP codes and 676 counties in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the company said. First American CoreLogic can be found online at http://www.facorelogic.com.