Case-Shiller national index down 5.1% YoY

This housing chart shows the year-over-year percentage change in the 20-city index, which is down 3.6% since March 2010:


The S&P/Case-Shiller national index is down 5.1% year-over-year:

U.S. home prices fell 4.2% in the first quarter, hitting their lowest levels since mid-2002 after falling 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes.

"This month's report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee. "The National Index fell 4.2% over the first quarter alone, and is down 5.1% compared to its year-ago level. Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight," he added. ...

Once federal home-buyer tax credits expired last year, the indexes — based on the three-month averages of home prices — started to fall again in August, increasing fears of a double dip in the home-buying market.

While other parts of the economy have started to show improvement, the housing market continues to sputter as U.S. unemployment remains high and a steady supply of foreclosures weigh on home sales and prices.

And The Wall Street Journal gives us this little reminder:

The National Association of Realtors said earlier this month that existing home sales eased 0.8% in April from March, while prices dropped 5%.

Yep, that's right, "eased," which means journalists are parroting the Realtors' spin verbatim.

Finally, here's how the Case-Shiller results compare to other indexes:

What are other price indexes showing?

The CoreLogic index, which is used by the Federal Reserve, shows that prices in March were down 7.5% in March from one year earlier. When excluding distressed sales, prices were down by 1%. A separate repeat-sales index that excludes foreclosure sales from FNC Inc. shows that prices nationally were down 6.3% in March from one year ago.

Zillow’s national home value index, which excludes foreclosures but not short sales, was down 8.2% in March from one year ago and has declined for 57 consecutive months.

Personally, I think this would all be behind us if Congress hadn't artificially propped up the market from 2009-2010.