U.S. home prices plunge 8.4%

Home prices continued to fall at a record pace in November, with Southern California posting some of the worst annual declines in a national index released today.

Miami saw a 15.1% drop in November a year earlier, the worst among 20 metropolitan areas in the Standard and Poors/Case-Shiller composite index. But San Diego was close behind with a 13.4% decline.

Los Angeles and Orange counties both saw an 11.9% drop in home values.

The November index of 10 metropolitan areas saw a year-over-year annual decline of 8.4%, the sharpest annual plunge since the index began in 1987. It was the second-straight record decline for the index, following a 6.7% drop in October.

The index shows Los Angeles and Orange County house prices are now 12% below their peak month, which Case-Shiller places at September, 2006.

The Case-Shiller index began with a comparison of 10 cities, but has since expanded to a group of 20. November saw record declines in 13 of the 20 metro areas.

Robert J. Shiller, the Yale University economist who co-founded the index, called the November figures “another grim milestone in the housing market.”

Only three metro areas showed annual price gains – Charlotte, N.C.; Seattle; and Portland, Ore.

The Case-Shiller index measures single-family home prices based on their sales histories. It includes neither condominium units nor new homes. Instead of stating prices, the index uses a score measuring percentage changes, based on a 100 score for January, 2000. The November 20-city score of 188.8 means house prices are 89% above January, 2000 levels.

peter.hong@latimes.com