It's difficult to think that even with these declines it could get worse, but it will. As unemployment increases, so will housing defaults and banks still are holding onto surplus for when the market settles. Remind me again why we're listening to the GOP who set up this failure? CNNMoney:
An index of home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell at a record annual pace in November, to levels not seen since 2004, according to a report released Tuesday.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a sampling of 20 cities from across the nation, fell a record 18.2% over the 12 months ended Nov. 30. That brought the index to its lowest point since February 2004. From its peak in mid-2006, the index has plunged a whopping 25.1%.
Eleven of the 20 cities showed record declines, and the 12-month price drop for 14 of the cities was a double-digit percentage.
"The freefall in residential real estate continued through November 2008," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, in a prepared statement. He said the 20-city index has fallen for every month since August 2006, a total of 28 consecutive months.
The decline was very broad, with prices down at least 1% in every region of the nation during the October-November period. Eight regions recorded record monthly declines, according to Blitzer.
