Aug. 29--OGDEN -- The days of rising home prices in Utah are gone, at least for now, according to new data from the federal government.

Statewide, home prices fell by an average of 0.8 percent in the three months ended June 30, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's home price index.

Utah prices still rose on an annual basis. For the 12 months ended June 30, prices were up 1.9 percent statewide over the previous year. The new figures represent a shift from the past two years, when Utah consistently led the nation in home appreciation rates. In the second-quarter report, Utah placed 16th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The local tide began to turn in the first quarter of this year, when Utah prices fell 0.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008. In the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area, which encompasses Weber, Davis and Morgan counties, prices were up more than 3 percent for the year, but unchanged in the second quarter.

Monthly reports from the Weber/North Davis Association of Realtors have shown higher home prices in Weber County but lower prices in Davis County this year. The association reported last week that the average selling price in Davis County was $265,000 in July, down 3.8 percent from a year earlier. In Weber County, last month's average of $194,000 was up 5.4 percent from July 2007.

Nationwide, the average home price fell 1.4 percent in the second quarter, slightly less than the 1.7 percent decline reported for the first quarter. During the year ended June 30, the United States average price fell 4.8 percent, the largest 12-month drop since the index began in 1991.

In a statement, OFHEO director James Lockhart said tighter credit conditions and relatively high inventory levels are behind the falling prices. The top poster states for the recent mortgage crisis -- California, Nevada and Florida -- weighed heavily on the national average with double-digit price drops for the year.

"However, the majority of metropolitan statistical areas posted positive four-quarter growth," Lockhart said.

The OFHEO index gets its data from the combined mortgage records of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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