Home values in the San Jose area continued to fall in the first quarter of this year, but the pace of the decline was slower than at any time since 2007, according to the Mercury News today. Reports that homes in the San Jose metropolitan area lost about $56.9 billion in market value in the 12 months that ended in March. But only about $98 million of that loss occurred in the first three months of this year — a significant improvement over the $30 billion decline reported for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The median value of individual homes in Santa Clara County fell 18.3 percent, to $573,779, in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. A record decline, according to the Merc.

Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone said his staff this year has reassessed nearly 91,000 residential properties to deliver tax reductions under Proposition 8, and those properties alone declined in value by $18 billion but “Virtually all of the residential properties in Santa Clara County in 2008 had some reduction in value,” he said.

For more information regarding the Proposition 8 tax reductions go HERE