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Charlotte home prices down 10% from 2008

Region's tally is its worst in the downtown, but is still a smaller drop than many

By Stella M. Hopkins

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Published: July 1, 2009

CHARLOTTE - Charlotte-area home prices took another dip in April, erasing a surprising gain in March, and striking a record double-digit annual decline, according to a closely watched price index.

Area sales prices declined 10 percent compared with April 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. That's the Charlotte region's worst reading of the downturn, but the drop is still less severe than many of the 20 markets measured by the index.

Charlotte also was the only one of the 20 markets that did not notch a monthly improvement. The index showed Charlotte with a 0.5 percent decline from March to April, compared with a tiny 0.3 percent gain from February to March.

The index is especially meaningful because it tracks repeat sales of existing houses, the most precise broad measure of how home values are holding up. March's meager gain was likely driven at least partly by a lull in foreclosures, which depress prices. The Charlotte area economy continues to struggle with pay cuts and job losses, from banks to schools and local government.

The index's other 19 areas showed monthly improvements although many are in much worse shape than Charlotte. Las Vegas, for example, one of the nation's hardest-hit housing markets, saw a monthly loss of 3.5 percent in April, a little better than its 3.8 percent drop in March.

For the year, Las Vegas is down 32.2 percent, the second-worst performance behind Phoenix's 35.3 percent decline.

All 20 urban markets measured by the index remain in negative territory, but April was the third consecutive month that the index's overall decline didn't set a record. Thirteen regions saw improvement in their annual returns, and "every metro area, except for Charlotte, recorded an improvement in monthly returns," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee.

"The pace of decline in residential real estate slowed in April," Blitzer said, adding that "some stabilization may be appearing in some regions."

Blitzer, like most experts, cautioned against reading too much into the results. Spring and early summer are typically the best months for sales, he said, "so it will take some time to determine if a recovery is really here."