California Home Prices Biggest Dip in 16 Months

California home prices in February were 5.6 percent lower than the previous year, according to CoreLogic.

That’s the fourth consecutive drop after nine consecutive increases and the largest rate of decline in 16 months, 7.6 percent in October 2009.

Nationwide CoreLogic's Home Price Index Showed a Year-Over-Year Decline
for the Seventh Straight Month

According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 6.7 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010 after declining by 5.5 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.1 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010 and by 1.4 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.