U.S. home prices fell in March for the eighth consecutive month, confirming that the housing market has entered a double-dip recession, according the Case-Shiller home price index released this week by Standard & Poor’s.
Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities declined 0.8 percent in March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
Prices fell in 18 of 20 cities in March on a monthly basis. Only Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Wash., showed advances.
Prices fell 3.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in March, compared with a 3.3 percent year-over-year drop in February.
The 20-city index is now below its April 2009 trough, meaning that home prices have fully retreated from gains posted from May 2009 through June 2010, putting housing in a double-dip downturn.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s consumer-confidence index fell in May as Americans grew slightly more pessimistic about future job prospects and business conditions. The organization said its consumer confidence index fell to 60.8 in May from a revised 66.0 in April – the lowest reading in six months.
