Assist2Sell

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities dropped 3.6% in September from the same month in 2010 after decreasing 3.8% in the year ended August, the group said today in New York. The median forecast of 32 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected a 3% decrease.  “We continue to expect home prices to fall through mid- 2012,” said Anika Khan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We still have an oversupply of existing homes, and distressed transactions continue to drive down home prices.” Estimates in the Bloomberg survey for the price change ranged from declines of 2.7% to 3.9%. The Case- Shiller index is based on a three-month average, which means the September data were influenced by transactions in July and August.  The year-over-year decline in September was the smallest in seven months.  Home prices adjusted for seasonal variations fell 0.6% in September from the prior month, the biggest decrease since March, after falling 0.3% in August. Unadjusted prices also decreased 0.6% from August as 17 of 20 cities showed declines.

Only Washington, New York and Portland, Oregon, showed gains. Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix posted new post peak lows in September, the report showed.  The year-over-year gauge provides better indications of trends in prices, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller group. The panel includes Karl Case and Robert Shiller, the economists who created the index.  Eighteen of the 20 cities in the index showed a year-over- year decline, led by a 9.8% drop in Atlanta.  Detroit showed the biggest year-over-year increase, with prices rising 3.7% in the 12 months to September. Property values in Washington were up 1%.  Nationally, prices decreased 3.9% in the third quarter from the same time in 2010. They increased 0.1% from the previous three months before seasonal adjustment and dropped 1.2% after taking those changes into account.