The National Association of Realtors said that median prices for existing single-family homes dropped in 100 of 149 metropolitan areas in the January-March period, compared with the same period last year, while 48 metropolitan areas saw prices increase and one reported no change.

The median price in Salt Lake City was up 3.5 percent, to $225,700.

The price declines in 67 percent of the areas surveyed was the largest percentage of areas reporting declining prices in the history of the Realtors' survey, which goes back to 1979. Prices had fallen in 34 percent of the cities surveyed in the October-December survey.

Nationally, the median home price - the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less - fell to $196,300 in the first quarter, down by 7.7 percent from the same period a year ago, when the median sales price was $212,600.

The steep decline in prices and sales was the latest indication of the problems facing the housing market, which is in a prolonged slump that has dragged down sales and home prices.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors association, said that part of the problem in the first three months of the year was that it was difficult to get so-called jumbo loans because of the credit squeeze triggered by rising mortgage defaults, particularly for subprime loans, mortgages made to borrowers with weak credit histories.

Jumbo loans are critical to finance homes in high-cost areas of the country.