Miami home prices fall at record rate

Home prices in Miami fell at a record-setting rate this year, falling 29 percent since October of 2007 and 3 percent month-over-month, according to  S&P/Case-Shiller Homes Prices Index data released today.

Miami is one of 14 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline, according to an analysis of October housing sales data.

It’s clear that Miami hasn’t hit bottom, said Maureen Maitland, vice president of index services at Standard & Poor’s, because home prices are still falling quickly from month to month.

“When you’re down more than 3 percent in just one month, you can’t say you’re doing much better,” she said.

The sales prices of single-family homes across the country plummeted in value through October 2008, the most recent month for which data is available. While some regions seem to be declining more slowly than others, none have shown a turnaround, Maitland said.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a very happy story,” Maitland said. “A lot of people are looking for the beginning of the end, and it’s just didn’t happen this month.”

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices measure the rise and fall in prices of typical single-family homes located in 20 different metropolitan areas. Each area’s index tracks the average sales prices of thousands of houses in the region.

In October 2008, the indices of all 20 metropolitan areas measured by the report posted their second consecutive monthly declines, while Tampa and five other areas — Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Minneapolis and Washington — had their largest monthly decline on record.

On the west coast of Florida in Tampa, the index value fell 3.4 percent between September and October of 2008, and has declined 19.8 percent year-over-year.

Sunbelt cities have been the hardest hit by the nationwide housing slump due to a large numbers of new homes in those areas. “Many of those regions are known for having large inventory overhang,” she said.