March 31, 2009 -- U.S. house prices have fallen 29 percent from their peak and are still tumbling at the fastest rate on record, according the closely watched Case-Shiller index.
The latest figures dash hopes that emergency action by the US Federal Reserve over the winter would at least slow the pace of decline. Prices dropped 19 percent in the 20 largest cities in the year to January, with an accelerating downward lurch during the first weeks of 2009.
There was a flicker of life last week when the National Association of Realtors reported a 5.1 percent rise in sales of existing homes in February, a sign that overhang of foreclosed houses is slowly starting to clear -- especially on the West Coast.Anecdotal reports hint at a burst of sales in March, helped by an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers.
Chris Whalen, from Institutional Risk Analytics, said the crisis is spreading from bubble zones such as Arizona and Florida into rock-solid neighbourhoods in the East. It is also climbing up the credit ladder.
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