Home Prices Fall For Second Month In A Row In September

U.S. home prices fell in September for a second month in a row, pressured by weak demand and cheap distressed sales, data analysis firm CoreLogic Inc said on Monday.

CoreLogic's home price index slipped 1.1 percent from the month before. Compared to September of last year, prices were down 4.1 percent, though this was an improvement from the 4.4 percent year-over-year decline seen in August.

Excluding distressed sales, prices were down 1.1 percent from a year ago.

"Even with low interest rates, demand for houses remains muted," Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic, said in a statement.

"Home prices are adjusting to correct for the supply-demand imbalance and we expect declines to continue through the winter. Distressed sales remain a significant share of homes that do sell and are driving home prices overall."

Of the top 100 statistical areas measured by population, 82 showed yearly decreases, the same amount as in August.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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