Americans who are trying to sell their homes in the current market are facing difficult prospects -- at least if they hope to get a reasonable return on the investment they put in their homes.
As a sign that millions of foreclosures over the past few years of economic weakness continue to have negative effects on the market, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index recently reported that home prices dropped yet again in December in 18 of 20 major American cities.
Miami and Phoenix were the only exceptions. Atlanta, where home prices are already extremely low, saw prices plunge to their lowest level since the housing crisis started. The index accounts for roughly half of all American homes.
December was the fourth consecutive month during which home prices tracked by the Case-Shiller index decreased. While a fall and winter slowdown is not unexpected, the prices were down in December 2011 not only by comparison with typically better months but even by comparison with December 2010 figures.
Far from "recovering," it appears that the extremely important housing market is still in deep trouble. And that could mean less home construction, which is distressing because of the jobs, economic growth and tax revenue that home construction generates.
"If anything, it looks like we might have re-entered a period of decline [in home prices] as we begin 2012," David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P's index committee, told The Associated Press.
The last thing millions of homeowners want to hear is that their homes have just lost more value. But that's the painful fact.