Case-Shiller Index: Home Values Down Slightly in November

Home prices fell 0.2% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis after leveling off in October, suggesting the housing market has lost momentum and values could decline over the winter months, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city price index. "On balance, while these data do show that home prices are far more stable than they were a year ago, there is no clear sign of a sustained, broad-based recovery," said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee. Until October, the HPI registered four consecutive months of house price increases. But for 2009 through the month of November, the HPI is down 2.8%. S&P's chief economist David Wyss expects home sales will drop over the winter and house prices could fall 8% based on the 20-city HPI. Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that its seasonally adjusted HPI -- based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase mortgage transactions -- rose 0.7% in November from October. For the 12 months ending in November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency HPI is up 0.5%.