Home Prices Still Falling in Major Cities

US home prices slipped in nearly every major metropolitan area in November, with several cities sinking to their lowest levels since the housing peak about four years earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday.

From October to November, prices fell in 19 of the 20 metro areas the index tracks. San Diego was the lone exception, essentially flat. Only four areas managed year-over-year gains: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington. In the aggregate, prices were down 1.6 percent from a year earlier, falling in 16 of the 20 cities.

Eight cities -- Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Seattle, and Tampa -- hit their lowest annual levels since the bust began. The 20-city index now sits only about 3 percent above its April 2009 trough, leading index committee chairman David Blitzer to warn that a housing "double dip" could be confirmed before spring.

The renewed slide, arriving just as the broader economy seemed to be recovering, was the worst fear of housing analysts. Foreclosures and high unemployment were expected to keep dragging prices down at least through the first half of the year.

The Washington region bucked the trend: home values there rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by a healthy job market for high-salaried workers, though prices were nearly flat from October and remain well off their peak.

The Case-Shiller index tracks repeat sales of single-family homes as a rolling three-month average, so the November figures capture deals that closed in September and October as well.