Home Prices Post Record 4th-Quarter Decline

Home prices tumbled by the sharpest year-over-year rate on record in the fourth quarter and in December, a widely-watched index shows. The S&P/Case-Shiller US home price index plunged 18.2% from the fourth quarter a year ago, the largest drop in its 21-year history. Prices are now at the lowest levels since the third quarter of 2003.

In December, the Case-Shiller 20-city index dropped 18.5% from December 2007 levels, while the 10-city index fell 19.2%. Prices in the 20-city index have plummeted 27% from their peak in the summer of 2006, and the 10-city index has fallen more than 28%. (More home prices stories.)