Declining home values sink one-fifth of homeowners

U.S. home values fell for the ninth consecutive quarter during the first three months of 2009 leaving one in five American homeowners with negative equity in their homes.  The first quarter Zillow Home Value Index fell to $182,378, a decline of 14.2 percent over the same period in 2008. The last time the market was at this level was the first quarter of 2004. Of the 161 metropolitan areas covered by the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, the five best performing markets are: Fayetteville, NC, where home values increase 14.4 percent to an average value of $118,121 Oklahoma City, OK, where home values increased 5.1 percent to an average of $118,446 Binghamton, NY, where home values increased 2.5 percent to an average of $114,604 Jacksonville, NC, where home values also increased 2.5 p