Home prices in US slump again,hit new lows

Nine of the 20 cities in the index sank in November to new lows for this economic cycle: Chicago; Las Vegas; Detroit; Atlanta; Seattle; Charlotte,N.C.; Miami; Tampa; Fla.; and Portland,Ore. Only a handful of places essentially,California and the District of Columbia went counter to the trend and had rising prices over the last year.

Whether the long-predicted double dip is looming or has already arrived is a quibble of semantics. David M Blitzer,chairman of S&Ps Index Committee,does not count a downturn as a double dip until it exceeds the previous low. The index is still 3.3 per cent above the low it reached in April 2009. Blitzer thinks a double dip could be confirmed before spring. We shouldnt kid ourselves, he said. The last few months have been weak.

Cities that were never mainstays of the boom are suffering unduly in this latest bust. Atlanta,Chicago and Portland have dropped more than 7 per cent over the last year,with much of the tumble in October and November.

By this point,the problems in the housing market are well known. Builders built too much,lenders lent too much,and people bought too much. The binge was epic and so is the hangover.DAVID STREITFELD