SAN DIEGO -- Home prices in San Diego are dropping more steeply than in any other major metropolitan area in the nation, according to a new report.

In October, San Diego home prices dropped 2.6 percent, the greatest month-to-month decrease among 20 major areas surveyed, the North County Times reported, citing the newly released Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Indices survey.

Analysts told the Times to expect similar home price decreases in San Diego, where prices have fallen for the past 16 months, when figures for November are released.

A local home purchased in October 2006 for $500,000 would now cost, on average, about $445,000, according to the report. Analysts said they expect the decline to continue well into 2008.

Since October 2006, local home prices have dropped more than 11 percent. At 11-plus percent in just one year, San Diego ranks No. 4 in the country for dropping home prices, the Times reported.

The national average for year-over decreases is 6.7 percent, according to the newspaper.