From January to February prices fell 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the monthly House Price Index published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  The previously reported 0.3 percent decrease in January was revised to a 1.0 percent decrease.  For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices fell 5.7 percent.  The U.S. index is  18.6 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from  January  to February  ranged from  -3.7 percent in the Mountain  Division  to  -0.6 percent in the  East  South Central Division.

 FHFA Press Release

Craig Roberts, President of Pennsylvania First Settlement Services LP, is a Certified Land Title Professional (CLTP), past-President of the Pennsylvania Land Title Association, and is a licensed title agent and real estate broker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania First Settlement Services is a full-service title insurance agency serving the greater Pocono area of northeastern Pennsylvania.  Its services include title searches, title insurance, real estate settlements, foreclosure research, documents services and short sale assistance.  www.pafirstsettlement.com