Just two metropolitan areas of the US witnessed positive year-on-year house price gains, the latest Standard and Poor's S and P/Case-Shiller Home Price report has revealed.
San Diego and Washington DC were the only two regions which bucked the negative trend and saw residential prices increase, with average home prices across the US now at the same level seen in the summer of 2003, the research noted.
Even in these two markets, the gains were modest, with San Diego only up by 0.1 per cent and Washington DC recording a 3.6 per cent home price growth rate in January.
"These data confirm what we have seen with recent housing starts and sales reports. The US housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.
Overall, the financial body noted that US home prices for the month of January fell 3.1 per cent compared to a year previous.