According to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices in the region dropped 3.4 percent year-over-year during the first quarter of 2011. Since the prices for the region hit their peak in June 2006, they have dropped 24 percent. Prices during 2010 are slightly skewed, however, as the government had issued a first-time homebuyers tax credit in an attempt to boost the real estate market.
Despite the price drop, New York fared better than many other metropolitan areas, as well as the national decline of 4.2 percent during the quarter.
"New York is still one of the healthier markets in the nation," Maureen Maitland, who tracks housing for Standard & Poor's, told Crain's New York Business. "The market is fairly compact, and there's not much overbuilding, so the homes have retained some of their value."
Furthermore, since the index was first created in 2000, New York property values have increased 63.5 percent. This gain is third to only Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
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