by Calculated Risk on 4/09/2012 09:14:00 AM

Notes: The timing of different house prices indexes can be a little confusing. LPS uses January closings - other indexes usually report sales recorded in a month, and there is frequently a lag between closings and recording - so this is closer to what other indexes report for February (without the weighting of several months).

From LPS: LPS Home Price Index Shows U.S. Home Price Decline of 0.9 Percent in January; Early Data Suggests Slowing Likely in February, to 0.3 Percent Drop

LPS ...that starting with this month’s report, results are based on an updated view that more accurately tracks price changes for non-distressed homes. In addition to foreclosure price data the LPS HPI now accounts for the impact of short sale on estimates of normal market prices.

The updated LPS HPI national average home price for transactions during January 2012 declined 0.9 percent to a price level not seen since March 2003.

LPS excludes both foreclosures and short sales from the index - so this is non-distressed properties only. From LPS:

Among the 26 MSAs for which LPS and the Bureau of Labor Statistics both provide data, average prices in January increased only in Washington, D.C.

Fourteen of these MSAs saw declines of more than 1.0%, and three, San Francisco, Cleveland and Chicago declined more than 1.5%.

Note: Based on early data, LPS expects to report prices fell 0.3% in February.