U.S. home prices fall again
Down for the eighth consecutive month; index of 10 large U.S. cities shows a price drop of 5% in August, the largest since 1991.
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. home prices fell nationwide in August for the eighth consecutive month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday.
And things could get worse, said Yale economist Robert Shiller, who helped create the index.
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"There is really no positive news in today's report," said Shiller, chief economist for MacroMarkets, which collaborated with S&P on the indicator.
Home prices as measured by the index have fallen more every month since the beginning of the year. August is the 21st month of decelerating returns.
An index of 10 U.S. cities fell 5 percent in August from a year ago. That was the biggest drop since June 1991. The lowest ever was a decline of 6.3 percent in April 1991.
A broader index of 20 cities fell 4.4 percent in August over last year, with 15 of 20 cities reporting that prices fell.
Housing prices have been a key worry for consumers, and the effect of the slowdown alongside the summer's steep decline in credit availability, has many worried that the economy will go into recession.
Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates again at the end of a two-day meeting that starts Tuesday, after a bigger-than-expected half-point cut last month. 
