U.S. home prices continued to fall at a record-breaking pace in August, with the Los Angeles area posting among the sharpest declines, according to a prominent index released Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas was down 16.6 percent in August from the same month a year ago. Los Angeles and Orange County home prices were down 26.7 percent in August compared with August 2007.

In the Los Angeles area, lower-priced homes showed greater price declines than the high end of the market. Lower-priced Los Angeles area homes dropped 42 percent from their fall 2006 peak price. The highest-priced third of Los Angeles area homes were down 21 percent from their peak in the summer of 2006.

& #8226;

Read the full

Los Angeles Times

story.