US home prices have fallen considerably since the start of the housing crisis in 2006, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home-price indexes.
“In terms of prices, the housing market ended 2011 on a very disappointing note,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices. “While we thought we saw some signs of stabilization in the middle of 2011, it appears that neither the economy nor consumer confidence was strong enough to move the market in a positive direction as the year ended.”
Karl E. Case, one of the co-creators of the index, said that the housing market will begin to improve if demand for housing remains high and supply remains relatively low.
Many analysts consider that the declines over the past three years were more modest, after home prices fell in 2007 and 2008.
