Home prices across the country continued to drop in November but also continued to slow their rate of decline, according to Standard and Poor's Case-Shiller Index of home prices.
The index tracks home prices and sales in twenty cities across the U.S.
According to the index, prices dropped 5.3% in the past year, compared with a 7.3% decline in the previous month, the company said.. By comparison, one year ago, prices had tumbled 18.2% by the same date.
According to the index, prices in the 20 cities dropped 32.6% from the peak and are at the same level they had in 2003.
The index called the data "mixed" and noted that five of its index metropolitan areas saw higher prices in November compared with October: Home prices in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Portland, Ore., all showed improvement while prices were lower in November than they were a year earlier in 16 of the 20 cities.
Las Vegas continued its role as the leading city in the decline. Prices in the gaming capital dropped 24.5% in the past year.
Economists and policy makers have looked to recovering home prices as one of the signs of an improving economy.
