Credit crunch weighs on housing prices

Standard & Poor's today released its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index for August 2007, and the credit crunch that recently roiled the mortgage market weighed heavily on home prices. Of the 20 markets tracked by the index, only five remain in positive territory over the past year.

However, the rate of appreciation in those markets has slowed, and even Seattle, the strongest market, showed a small monthly price decline. In fact, only two markets -- Charlotte and Denver -- showed a price increase for the most recent month.

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