Home Prices Continued To Decline In 2008, New Index Reports

RIVERSIDE, CA - FEBRUARY 24: A home construction site stands idled February 24, 2009 near Riverside, California. U.S. single family homes prices continued to plummet for the second year, falling 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the year before. It was the biggest decline in the 21-year history of the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller US national home price index. Big declines hit cities like Phoenix with a 34 percent drop; Las Vegas dipping 33 percent; San Francisco down by 31 percent; Miami 29 percent; and Los Angeles, which includes Orange County, falling 26 percent. The January median sales price for Southern California homes fell 40 percent from the same month a year prior and Los Angeles-area home prices ended 2008 down 37 percent from a late 2006 peak. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)