The median sales price for homes continues to fall, a sign that the real estate downturn is not yet over. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices, a leading measure of home values in the U.S., Las Vegas and Miami have seen the largest price declines over the past year through the end of April, with price drops of nearly 27 percent in both markets.

Las Vegas and Miami have the distinction of seeing the biggest home price run-ups in 2004 and 2005 as both areas were popular with vacation home buyers and investors looking to purchase property to rent out to travelers. Overall, each of the 20 metropolitan areas covered by the index have posted declines since last April. In an article in USA Today, reporter Anna Bahney interviewed two economists who predict that these price free falls are not over. Mark Zandi, an economist with Moody’s Economy.com says in the article that he expects home prices to continue to drop for at least another year.

These new numbers will no doubt give buyers in the hunt for a vacation home pause. Any buyer entering a market like Las Vegas or the greater Phoenix area, whether they are looking for whole or fractional ownership, is likely to question whether they are paying too much for their property. Another consideration is destination clubs. As holders of large portfolios of real estate, some clubs are undoubtedly seeing the value of some of their properties decline, which should prompt current and potential members to take a hard look at a club’s net asset test (a measure of its ability to cover the refundable portion of membership deposits). That said, clubs may be in a unique position to target these second home fence sitters with a membership product that isn’t seeing wild double digit price swings.

Readers, weigh in below. Is the decline of the U.S. housing market present a new market opportunity to destination clubs?