WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices in a majority of major U.S. cities tracked by a private trade group have fallen to their lowest levels since the housing bubble burst.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index fell in December from November in all but one of the 20 cities it tracks. The 20-city index declined 1%.
The only market to see a gain was Washington.
Eleven of the markets hit their lowest point since the housing bust, in 2006 and 2007: Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Detroit; Las Vegas; Miami; New York; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; and Tampa, Fla.
The damage from the real estate bubble now spreads well beyond the Sun Belt, where new homes cropped up at a frantic pace during the mid-2000s. In many places, prices are expected to keep falling for at least the next six months.
"Unlike the 2006 to 2009 period when all cities saw prices move together, we see some differing stories around the country," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.
