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The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reports that U.S. home prices fell a record 4.8 percent in May since the same time last year. The agency also said that home prices fell 0.3 percent since last month. OFHEO oversees the government-sponsored mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Market Watch points out, “The OFHEO index tracks mortgages data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of sales of the same homes over time. It does not include jumbo loans, or subprime loans, so it may understate the declines in the bubbliest areas of the country, such as California, Florida, Nevada and
Arizona.” Market Watch notes that the more comprehensive Case-Schiller index;

“will be released for May by Standard & Poor’s next week. Through April, home prices were down 15.3% in the past year according to Case-Shiller. It includes subprime and jumbo loans, so it covers more homes than the OFHEO index does.”

There are wide regional disparities in home values that the national averages do not reflect. While the OFHEO reports that prices rose in May in the Middle Atlantic (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) and the East North Central states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio), the San Diego Union Tribune writes, “DataQuick Information Systems reported yesterday that the statewide median home price was down 31.5 percent last month from June 2007 levels.”

See articles-
Market Watch : U.S. home values fall 4.8% in past year, U.S. says
Associated Press : US home prices fell 4.8 percent in May
San Diego Union Tribune : Statewide home prices fall