US home prices fall

The latest house price index from CoreLogic has revealed that US residential property values dropped during August.

According to the organisation, this is the first month-on-month decline since April, when a 0.7 per cent rise was recorded, ending a run of consistent falls that began in mid-2010.

On an annual basis, prices including those for distressed assets were down by 4.4 per cent, while this drops dramatically to a 0.7 per cent reduction when distressed properties are taken out of the equation.

Chief economist at CoreLogic Mark Fleming commented that the marginal month-on-month fall was "predictable, particularly given the renewed concerns over a double-dip recession, high negative equity and the persistent levels of shadow inventory".

However, he was upbeat about the figures for non-distressed homes, adding that this sector of the market "continues to exhibit relative strength".

When such properties were excluded, the states that experienced the greatest price hikes were West Virginia - posting a 10.7 per cent rise - Mississippi, Hawaii, North Dakota and Kansas.

Conversely, Nevada, Arizona, Delaware, Michigan and Minnesota were singled out as seeing the greatest depreciation in real estate values during August.
 

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