The slide in U.S. home prices gained speed in August, and Dallas-Fort Worth area home prices dipped as well.

Nationwide, prices fell by a record 16.6 percent in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller monthly housing report.

In the D-FW area, prices were down 2.7 percent in August compared with a year ago in the benchmark home survey. Out of the 20 markets Case-Shiller tracks, "13 of them had their annual returns worsen from last month's report," S&P's David Blitzer said. "As seen throughout 2008, the Sun Belt markets are being hit the most."

The sharpest declines were in Las Vegas and Phoenix, where prices were down more than 30 percent.

None of the cities had an increase in prices from last year.

The D-FW area had the smallest decline in the report. But the annualized dip in home values here grew slightly from July to August. And prices were down 0.2 percentage points from July's index.

Case-Shiller's numbers show a 20 percent drop in U.S. home prices since the peak in June 2006.

D-FW home prices have fallen by less than 3 percent since they topped out in the Case-Shiller report in mid-2007.

Local numbers from the Multiple Listing Service are in line with Case-Shiller's; for 2008, the MLS says home prices are down 2 percent.

North Texas housing analysts are keeping a wary eye on the market.

"What I am hearing on the street in D-FW is that many buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach to making a new home purchase right now in light of the roiling equity and credit markets and the election," said Dallas housing analyst Ted Wilson of Residential Strategies.

"The big question is how severe the national recession will be in North Texas and how deeply it will cut into the spring sales market."

Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes. The index survey does not include condominiums and townhouses. It covers only pre-owned homes – no new construction.

The Case-Shiller researchers compare verified sales of specific homes over time.