We have entered into a new era of the housing market decline according to the just released Case Shiller 20 City Housing Report for November 2008.

In the past, some cities that speculation was rampant during bore the brunt of the declines in housing prices. Some cities such as Cleveland, Dallas, and Charlotte remained fairly stable.

Now it is as if the major cities in the country are moving down in lockstep. Every city was down between 1.1% (Denver) and 3.4% (Phoenix). This tells me that the effects of a national recession, the credit crunch, and a media searching for negative stories has taken hold of the American home sellers and buyers.

Another factor is that the home buyers and sellers have been told that a government fix was coming  to  the housing problem. That kept many on the sidelines hoping for a miracle and/or a bailout just as the banks were holding on to homes to sell at an inflated price.

My guess is that the marketplace is now self correcting understanding this problem is beyond the scope of the government (as it always was) and allowing market forces to do their job.

This decline is not unexpected and in some ways should be welcomed. Once housing finds it’s bottom the market can recover.  

Case Shiller November 2008 Report Shows Consistent Declines

Metro Area       Nov08      Oct08-Nov08      Nov07-Nov08   

Atlanta         116.57          -2.7%           -11.2%
Boston          155.03          -2.6%           -7.4%
Charlotte       125.61          -1.9%           -5.3%
Chicago         141.44          -2.8%           -12.5%
Cleveland       107.43          -1.2%           -5.2%
Dallas          118.34          -1.9%           -3.3%
Denver          127.65          -1.1%           -4.3%
Detroit         83.42           -3.1%           -20.7%
Las Vegas       138.04          -3.3%           -31.6%
Los Angeles     175.85          -2.2%           -26.9%
Miami           169.62          -2.2%           -28.7%
Minneapolis     133.22          -2.1%           -16.3%
New York        186.81          -1.6%           -8.6%
Phoenix         130.54          -3.4%           -32.9%
Portland        162.62          -2.3%           -11.5%
San Diego       155.47          -2.3%           -25.8%
San Francisco   135.28          -3.0%           -30.8%
Seattle         166.23          -2.5%           -11.2%
Tampa           160.86          -2.8%           -20.9%
Washington      180.50          -2.4%           -19.4%

Related posts:

1. Case Shiller December 2008 Report Shows Consistent Declines
2. Case Shiller January 200 Report Shows Declines in Housing Speeding Up
3. Case Shiller Down 18 Percent For October 2008
4. Case Shiller Report For September 2009
5. Case Shiller Report For May 2009 – Real Estate Looking Better