Home values see biggest drop since 2008 in first quarter

From bad to worse.

U.S. home values fell in the first quarter at the fastest rate since late 2008, real estate data firm Zillow Inc said Monday, suggesting that a bottom will not be seen until 2012 at the earliest.

Zillow said its home value index fell 3 percent in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, and was down 8.2 percent year-over-year.

The number of homeowners under water -- or, those who owe more on the mortgage than their house is currently worth -- amounted to 28.4 percent of single-family homeowners, representing a peak since Zillow began calculating the data in 2009.