NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. home prices posted record declines in April, continuing a long losing streak for U.S. home prices.
The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index fell to a record low of 15.3% on a year-over-year basis, and was down 1.4% from March. The 10-city index was down 16.3% year-over-year and 1.6% for the month.
The 20 city index is based on data going back 19 years, while the 10 city index is 21 years old.
"There might be some regional pockets of improvement, but on an annual basis the overall numbers continue to decline," said David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.
The declines have been remarkably consistent through the past two years with prices on the 20-city index dropping for 21 straight months, since July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen every month since June 2006.
What's more, recent drops have been particularly steep. The 20-city index fell 3.5% in March, 2.6% in February and 2.3% in January, and now it has gone down another 1.4%.
Plummeting prices could derail some of the foreclosure prevention efforts underway across the nation. As home prices fall, they wipe out home equity, often leaving homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Some 10 million homeowners are now underwater, according to Moody's Economy.com, and more are added every month through home-price declines.
Underwater borrowers have higher rates of foreclosure than those who retain some home equity. Should they run into financial problems, borrowers can't use their homes as a source of cash. And some owners will simply walk away from a home that has lost much of its value rather than keep making expensive payments every month.
Foreclosed homes go back on the market, often at distressed sale prices, pulling down home values further, and adding to the downward spiral of prices.
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[Via Home Mortgage Rates and Real Estate News]
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