The median U.S. single-family house price in the first quarter fell 14% from a year earlier to $169,000, the National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday.
The trade group said first-time home buyers accounted for half of all purchases in the quarter, and many of them zeroed in on foreclosed homes. That dragged down the median, the Realtors said.
The median price for the latest quarter is down 26% from a peak of $227,600 in the third quarter of 2005. The median price was down from a year earlier in 134 of the 152 metro areas included in the survey. (See the full list of metro areas.)
