Home Prices Fall Less Than Expected

- The House Price Index for May fell .3% versus estimates of a .8% decline and a .8% decline in April.

BOTTOM LINE: US home prices fell a less-than-expected 4.8% in May from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported. The monthly house price index is down 4.9% from its peak in April 2007, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said. The West South Central region, which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana saw prices rise .5%. The US median existing home price is still 52.0% higher over the last 8 years. Home prices are likely already near their bottom, but will remain in a range over the intermediate-term.