Index: Home Prices Off by Record 15.8%

U.S. home prices were down nationally by a record 15.8% in May from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. For the second month in a row, all 20 of the metropolitan areas tracked by the Case-Shiller index are showing home price declines on an annualized basis. In 10 of the 20 metropolitan areas, prices have registered double-digit declines. Las Vegas and Miami continued to have the most severe home price deterioration -- 28.4% and 28.3%, respectively -- over the previous 12 months, with Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa, Fla., all recording declines of more than 20%, according to the report. "The overall real estate market continued to slide in May, with the 10-city and 20-city composites declining by 1.0% and 0.9% for the month, respectively," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's. "Since August 2006, there has not been one month where we have seen overall price increases, as measured by the two composites." S&P can be found on the Web at http://www.standardandpoors.com.