Real Estate Prices Continue to Slide

Real estate prices fell significantly yet again in April, according to the latest round of statistics from the S&P/Case-Shiller index.

The figures for April showed that home prices declined nationwide by 18 percent. Since prices declined by 19.4 percent in January and 18.7 percent in March, April's figures are a potential sign that the market, while still struggling, may be approaching a bottom.

"While one month's data cannot determine if a turnaround has begun, it seems that some stabilization may be appearing in some of the regions. We have entered the seasonally strong period in the housing market, so it will take some time to determine if a recovery is really here," said index committee member David M. Blitzer.

Blitzer also noted that every metro area in the home prices index had seen improvement in April, with the exception of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Falling prices are still good news for homebuyers who have credit scores high enough to secure affordable mortgage loans in the current economic climate. The lower prices have also been spurring more home purchases in recent months, helping to reduce some of the large nationwide backlog of unsold homes.