Housing Prices Drop Again

Not a good month in May for houses. Prices dropped the steepest rate ever, according to the
S&P/ Case- Shiller 20 city index.
It was a drop of 15.8% compared to a year ago.
the index has only been around since 2000, but that's still a pretty good decline.

No city in the Case-Shiller 20-city index saw price gains in May, the second straight month that's happened. The monthly indices have not recorded an overall home price increase in any month since August 2006.

Nine cities that had record declines in May were: Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.

Las Vegas recorded the worst drop, with prices plunging 28.4 percent in the month. Miami came in a close second, with prices down 28.3 percent.

Can you believe that there might be a bright spot in the report though? 7 Cities had smaller then usual declnes — Tampa, Fla., Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Dallas and Atlanta

Charlotte, N.C., posted the smallest drop at 0.2 percent. Until April, the North Carolina city had been the last city still showing price gains.

Want to know the top 10 best cities to buy in?

10. Atlanta, GA

9. Jacksonville, FL

8. San Francisco, CA

7. Charlotte, NC

6. Dallas, TX

5. San Antonio, TX

4. Philadelphia, PA

3. St. Louis, MO

2. Austin, TX

1. Houston, TX

According to Forbes Magazine, these cities are still doing well in both median home price and the local economy.