The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index suffered a record annual decline of 16.6% through the third quarter, as compared with the same time period 2007. The third-quarter numbers continued, to a greater level, the negative trend already in place through the first two quarters of 2008, when annual declines were at 14% and 15.1%, respectively.

The National Composite Index, covering all nine U.S. census regions, was not alone in setting record-level declines. The 10-City and 20-City Composite indexes also set new records, with annual declines of 18.6% and 17.4%, respectively.

As of September 2008, prices for all three indexes were well off peak levels:

10-City Composite: -23.4%
20-City Composite: -21.8%
National Composite: -21.0%

Thirteen of the 20 major metro markets covered by the indexes were at record decline levels, led by Phoenix, reporting an annual decline of 31.9%. Las Vegas was second with an annual decline of 31.3%, with Miami, Los Angeles and San Diego right behind with declines of 28.4%, 27.6% and 26.3%, respectively.

On the bright side, or at least, the glass-half-full side, Dallas (-2.7%) and Charlotte (-3.5%) were in single-digit negative territory, through September, the best metro performances for the year.

Charlotte, however, reported its largest monthly decline ever, down 1.3%, and monthly returns were negative across the board for the major metro markets.

The complete index returns are below: