Washington, Feb 24 (IANS): US house prices fell modestly in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The prices were 0.1 percent lower in the fourth quarter than the previous one, while the prices were up 0.7 percent from November, but still over 18 percent below its April 2007 peak, the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Thursday.

With respect to the 12 months ending in December, the house prices dropped 2.4 percent, signalling the housing market is struggling to recover from a five-year bust.

As measured by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median existing-home price for all housing types was 154,700 in January, a year-on-year 2.0 percent decrease. That is the lowest price reading since November 2001.

Distressed homes including foreclosures and short sales which sell at deep discounts accounted for 35 percent of January sales, said the NAR.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke noted earlier this month that serious imbalance between supply and demand, tight mortgage credit, and overhang of empty and foreclosed homes hindered the rebound of housing market, which continued to hold back US economic recovery.