South Florida home prices in March hit their lowest level since the real estate crash, a crushing drop that reflected the nationwide trend and one that had economists declaring recent market gains artificial.
Prices for Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties were down 6 percent from the previous year and a staggering 51 percent from their peak in December 2006, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller price index, which was released Tuesday.
Of 20 areas the index surveyed, only Washington, D.C., had an annual gain in prices, while 12 regions, including South Florida, posted new lows since the housing bubble burst.
Nationally, housing prices in the first quarter of 2011 hit a record low since the recession began, dropping 5.1 percent compared with last year. The nationwide index’s dip in March was the eighth consecutive monthly drop.
