House Prices Decline Slightly in February

Washington, DC, April 23, 2010--U.S. home prices fell 3.4 percent in February from a year ago, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency data.

The decline was half the 6.8 percent drop seen in the first month of 2009. Prices dropped another 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February.

A homebuyer tax credit of as much as $8,000 helped push housing sales up by 4.9 percent last year, the first annual gain since 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The median price as measured by the National Association of Realtors was $165,100 in February, the month covered by the FHFA report.