Home prices in Chicago area slide

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Updated: November 29, 2011 7:22PM

Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area slid 0.8 percent in September from August, reversing course after four straight month-over-month price increases, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price index.

Prices dropped 5 percent from September 2010, an improvement over the 5.8 percent year-over-year decline reported in August.

Nationally, the 10-city composite fell 0.4 percent since August and dropped 3.3 percent year-over year. The 20-city composite fell 0.6 percent month-over-month and dropped 3.6 percent since September 2010. Detroit and Washington, D.C. were the only two metropolitan areas to post annual price increases.

Seventeen metropolitan areas reported price declines since August, excluding the New York, Portland and Washington, D.C. areas. In the New York and Portland areas, prices edged up 0.1 percent. Prices rose 1.2 percent in the Washington, D.C. area.

Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix posted new index lows. That development was labeled “disturbing” by David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices.

Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy,” he said in a statement. “The relative good news is that 14 cities saw improvements in their annual rates of change, versus six that weakened.”