LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Xinhua) -- A housing price index released Tuesday showed that home prices were down nearly 20 percent February in Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County from a year ago, among the sharpest drops in the United States.

    The 19.4-percent year-over-year decline in the Los Angeles-Orange County area compares to a 12.7-percent overall drop among 20 metropolitan areas measured by the Standard and Poors/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

    Las Vegas showed the most severe decline with 22.8 percent, followed by Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles-Orange County, San Diego, Tampa and San Francisco, while Charlotto was the only metro area to show an increase, 1.5 percent, according to the index.

    Meanwhile, experts warned that housing prices would further decline in coming months as there is no sign of a bottom in the numbers.

    The housing price index of 20 metro areas, which has a base value of 100 for January 2000, has now fallen 14.8 percent from its summer 2006 peak. The index was 175.94 for February 2008.

    Robert Shiller, a Yale economist and one of the index's creators, said earlier this month that home prices could fall 30 percent from their peak.

    Data Quick, a California-based real estate information service, reported this month the March median home sales price for Southern California, including Los Angeles and neighboring counties, was 20 percent from its peak to 385,000 U.S. dollars.