Feb. home prices fall, but not record sum

S&P/Case-Shiller
reports that in its 20-city composite, prices fell 18.6 percent during
the month of February from a month earlier, a slight improvement from January when prices
fell by 19 percent from the month before. February is the first month since October 2007 when
the composite did not post a record annual decline. New York’s prices
fell 1.6 percent between January and February, and 10.2 percent
compared to the same time last year. The index does not include condos
or co-ops, which makes up the bulk of homes in Manhattan. David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P,
said all 20 metro areas recorded a monthly decline in February, but 16
of the 20 areas saw improvements in their monthly returns and nine
areas showed improvements in their annual returns. TRD