Vegas atop home-price record drop

NEW YORK -- A closely watched index released Tuesday showed home prices tumbling by the sharpest annual rate ever in July, and though the monthly rate of decline is slowing, there is no turnaround in sight.

Las Vegas prices plunged the most at nearly 30 percent, with Phoenix diving 29 percent and Miami 28 percent. Prices in the seven cities in the Sun Belt all fell between 20 percent and 30 percent from a year ago.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index fell a record 16.3 percent in July from a year ago, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17.5 percent, its biggest drop in its 21-year history.

Prices in the 20-city index have fallen nearly 20 percent since peaking in July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen more than 21 percent since its peak in June 2006.

The pace of monthly declines is slowing. Between May and July, for example, home prices fell at a cumulative rate of 2.2 percent -- less than half the cumulative rate experienced between February and April.