BOULDER – Home prices in the Denver metro area and the nation continue to drop to prices not seen in years, according to one of the leading national surveys of home values.

The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices fell by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and posted an annual decline of 5.1 percent versus the first quarter of 2010.

The index for the metro Denver area, which includes Broomfield County but not Boulder County, fell by 0.6 percent in the quarter and is down 3.8 percent on a year-to-year basis.

The report shows an increasingly bad residential real estate market that will affect anyone trying to sell a home, its authors said. As of the first quarter of 2011, average home prices across the United States are back at their mid-2002 levels.

“This month’s report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation. … Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight, said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices.

“The rebound in prices seen in 2009 and 2010 was largely due to the first-time home buyers tax credit. Excluding the results of that policy, there has been no recovery or even stabilization in home prices during or after the recent recession. Further, while last year saw signs of an economic recovery, the most recent data do not point to renewed gains,” Blitzer said.

The index value for Denver was 120.55. The index tracks the gain or loss of home values since January 2000, and a score of 100 corresponds to what property values were in that market at that time.