Charlotte Home Prices Continue Slide In Leading Index

The Charlotte area is one of six major metropolitan areas to see its average home price hit a new low since the national housing market started to crash about four years ago. That's according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. The index surveys 20 metropolitan areas. Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Seattle and Tampa metropolitan join Charlotte as the six that hit new lows since the fall of 2006. Charlotte 's housing index dropped 4.2 percent for the year that ended Octobers 31st. The chairman of S&P index committee, David Blitzer, says he suspects the Charlotte market continues to fall because its housing prices peaked in the summer of 2007. By then, the housing bubble has started to burst in most areas. "There has been a pattern of those that peaked earlier bottomed earlier and the ones that peaked later seem to be bottoming later." The index shows prices are rebounding in Los Angles and San Diego. So Blitzer says people can feel optimistic if they believe the housing market in Southern California is a leading indicator for the country.