The S&P Case-Shiller home price index fell less than expected in February, although 10 of 20 metro areas still showed record rates of decline.

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index fell to a reading of 143.17 in February again expectations for a decline to 142.80. January's figure was revised down to 146.35 from an initial reading of 146.40.

The 20-city composite index posted a decline of 18.63%, slightly less than the 18.70% decline expected. The previous month's decline was revised to -19.00% from an initially-reported 18.97% fall.

"While the declines in residential real estate continued into February, we witnessed some deceleration in the rate of decline in some of the markets," says David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

He noted that all 20 metro areas recorded a monthly decline in February, though 16 of the 20 metro areas saw an improvement in their monthly returns compared to January. The report also noted that this is the first month since October 2007 where the 10- and 20-City Composites did not post a record annual decline.

"We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around," Blitzer said.

The three-month annualized rate of decline was 26.28% in February, compared to the -26.56% rate in January and the 24.71% fall in December.

Cleveland led the way in February with a 5.0% month-over-month decline, followed by Phoenix, which recorded a 4.5% decline. Sharp declines were also seen in Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit and Las Vegas.

The smallest monthly decline was seen in Dallas, with prices down 0.3% month-over-month.

On an annual basis, Phoenix saw the largest price declines, with prices down 35.2%, followed by San Francisco, where prices are down 31% on the year.

By Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009