(Correction: Corrects the monthly numbers mentioned in the seventh paragraph.)
While several metropolitan areas reported monthly decreases in home prices in November, a report released by Standard and Poor's on Tuesday showed that the annual rate of decline in home prices continued to slow down during the month.
The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 5.3 percent in November compared to the 7.3 percent decrease reported for October. Economists had been expecting prices to be down by about 5.0 percent compared to a year ago.
S&P noted that this marks approximately 10 months of improved readings in the annual statistics and is the third straight month of single-digit year-over-year declines.
David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said, "While we continue to see broad improvement in home prices as measured by the annual rate, the latest data show a far more mixed picture when you look at other details."
"Only five of the markets saw price increases in November versus October," he added. " What is more interesting is that four of the markets - Charlotte, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa - posted new low index levels as measured by the past four years."
Blitzer said, "In other words, any gains they might have seen in recent months have been erased and November is now considered their current trough value. On the flip side, there are still some markets that continue to improve month-over-month."
For the month of November, the 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis but fell 0.2 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
"Bottom line," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist for Miller Tabak, "it won't be until late spring, early summer that we will know the true equilibrium between supply and demand and thus pricing as the Fed ends (maybe) their MBS purchase program and the home buying tax credit expires, again."
He added, "Thus, it is way too premature to call the bottom in pricing and in fact with another wave of foreclosures and mortgage rate resets ahead, the odds are for another leg down, albeit more modestly than what has been seen so far, hopefully."
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