Home Prices Take Another Nose-Dive

Home prices in 20 US cities plunged 18% in October over the previous year, a record-breaking rate, Bloomberg reports. The S&P/Case-Shiller index, which has declined every month since January 2007, dropped 17.2% in September. "The bear market continues; home prices are back to their March 2004 levels,"  the chairman of S&P's index committee tells the Wall Street Journal.

The 20-city index is down 23% from its mid-2006 peak. Phoenix was the hardest-hit city, with prices falling 33%; Las Vegas was the runner-up at 32%. “Frankly, we’re in the midst of a downward spiral and the momentum is building,”  a home builder tells Bloomberg. (More housing market stories.)