The U.S. home prices dipped to new low in the first quarter of 2011 since last recession

The U.S. house costs dipped to new low in the first quarter of 2011 given that last recession, suggesting the housing market might fall into a brand new recession, based on the latest data released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price, which is regarded as the leading measure of U.S. Home prices, showed that the U.S. National Home Price Index declined by 4.2 percent to 125.41 within the first quarter of 2011, following a 3.6 percent drop within the fourth quarter of 2010.

The National Index posted an annual decline of 5.1 percent in the initial quarter of 2011, comparing with the same period of last year. The index was back to its mid-2002 levels.

Separately, the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite Index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.2 percent to 138.16 in March from February on a seasonally adjusted basis, which was in line with economists' expectations.

Among the 20 covered cities, 19 of them were down year-on-year, and 12 of them hit new lows given that the last recession.

"This month's report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in residence costs across much of the nation," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement on Tuesday and stressed that property prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.

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