U.S. Home Prices Slip Again

By Jon E. Dougherty at 25 Jan 2011

(Newsroom America) -- Home prices in the U.S. fell 0.5 percent from October to November, signalling the fifth straight monthly decline and triggering warnings there could be a double dip in the housing market.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas measured the decline, which wasn't as steep as the 0.8 percent most economists polled by Reuters had predicted.

Still, analysts said, the news was disappointing and pointed to a still-struggling housing market that a few years ago was one of the main factors driving the U.S. economy.

"A double-dip could be confirmed before spring," David Blitzer, S&P 500 Index Committee chairman, told CNBC shortly after the report was released.

In all, prices fell 1.6 percent last year.

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