House price declines in the Twin Cities during March outpaced the nation, with foreclosures leading the decline.

CoreLogic's March Home Price Index (HPI) shows that home prices, including distressed sales, in the US fell for the eighth month in a row, down 7.5 percent compared to March 2010. Prices during February were down 5.8 percent compared with February 2010.

In the Twin Cities March prices fell by almost 9 percent, compared to last March, following last month's 8 percent decline.

Foreclosures across the country are experiencing the bulk of the price declines. Excluding those bank-owned listings and short sales year-over-year prices nationwide were down almost 1 percent in March 2011. From February 2010 to February 2011 prices were down 2 percent.

In the Twin Cities, excluding distressed sales, prices fell 4 percent in March compared to a year ago and 6 percent in February - some of biggest declines in the nation.
In addition to the downward pressure on prices from foreclosure activity, those March prices are compared with sales made during the federal home buyer's tax credit, which expired at the end of April 2010.