In the late 1980s home prices in Phoenix declined for a grueling 17 straight months before bottoming out in the early 1990s. That downturn pummeled the savings and loan industry, and it set the record for length.

The U.S. real estate market, which was central to the global financial crisis, remains deeply troubled, and a full recovery could be years away, according to industry experts and analysts at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

In the last month, financial markets came as close to collapsing as they have since the Great Depression, and the root of their woes was frozen credit markets. The crisis sparked several weeks of furious and futile improvisation by U.S. regulators and lawmakers.

Back in the early 1990s, the Phoenix metro area — like the rest of the country — was suffering through a profound real estate recession and house prices declined for a record 17 straight months. Like Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, it was thought it would never be equaled.

The fall in housing prices continues, with the latest data from the ASU Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) showing that in June home values had dropped 22.8 percent compared to June 2007. That makes four months of double-digit declines in year-over-year price comparisons.

Malaise in the economy is slowing down the arrival of relief for Phoenix real estate and lengthening what is already a record-breaking run of declining prices, according to an analysis of the Arizona State University-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI).

The 13 economists who track the real estate construction industry for the Greater Phoenix Blue Chip Economic Forecast are projecting that the metro area's residential market will bottom out in 2009, however down times will continue on for the multi family and commercial sector.

The ASU Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) continued to decline in June, but the numbers contained positive signals that improvement is the trend in the Phoenix metro real estate market.

Foreclosed homes accounted for 37 percent of the total activity in the Phoenix metro real estate market in July — down from February when foreclosures represented 51 percent of the sales.

Although prices in metro Phoenix dropped 33 percent in May compared to May 2008, the rate of decline once again slowed, adding another month to an improving trend in the market, according to the ASU-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI).