House prices nationwide dropped 7.6 percent in one year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Half of the houses sold in the second quarter of this year cost $206,500 or more. That's 7.6 percent less than the comparable median price of $223,500 in the second quarter of 2007.

The national number doesn't tell the local story, and all housing is local. The locality with the most eye-popping decline in housing prices was Sacramento, where the market is either horribly ugly or spectacularly beautiful, depending on whether you are a seller or a first-time buyer.

House prices in Sacramento tumbled 35.6 percent in 12 months in the metro area of California's capital city. In the second quarter of this year, the median price in the Sacramento area was $229,500, down from $356,500 a year earlier.

Almost two-thirds of home sales in Sacramento in May were foreclosures, The Wall Street Journal reported in June. That's awful for the sellers who lost their houses. But it's welcome news for first-time buyers, who didn't have to sell in the down market and can snap up great deals. In the second quarter of 2006, the median house in Sacramento cost $380,400. That means the median price fell 40 percent in two years.

Prices fell more than one-fifth in seven metro areas. After Sacramento, they are as follows.

Metro areas down by at least 20 percent

• Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., down 33.2 percent, to $265,200 from $396,800. • Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla., down 33.1 percent, to $178,100 from $266,200. • Los Angeles-Long Beach, down 29.5 percent, to $417,800 from $593,000. • Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif., down 23.9 percent, to $553,300 from $727,100. • Las Vegas, down 23.6 percent, to $235,300 from $307,900. • Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., down 22.5 percent, to $205,100 from 264,800.