There was good news and bad news for America's housing market. Sales of existing homes rose to an annual rate of 6.46m in January, the highest level for seven months. But after increasing in December, the median price of an existing home fell by nearly 5%, to $210,600. Separate data for the smaller market in new homes showed that sales plunged in January by 16.6%, to an annual rate of 937,000—the biggest drop in 13 years.

Home Prices Fall at Fastest Rate in 14 Years
U.S. home prices fell 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Standard & Poor's inaugural release of the national Case-Shiller price index.This is the fastest rate home prices have fallen since 1992. Overall home prices rose only 0.4 percent last year.

On an inflation-adjusted basis, national home prices are down 1.6 percent in the past year. Prices in the top 10 metro areas are down 2 percent.

Among the 20 cities included in the index, the biggest gains in the past year were in Seattle (up 12.1 percent), Portland (up 9.9 percent) and Charlotte (up 6.7 percent). The biggest losses in the past year were recorded in Detroit (down 5.9 percent), Boston (down 5.1 percent) and San Diego (down 4.2 percent).

Source: Dow Jones Business News (02/27/07)