• Case Shiller passed 25% declines from the peak in the broader 20 region index.
• Median sales price of existing homes accelerated downward 13.6% and 15.3% in November and December, year over year, respectively. National Association of Realtors
• Housing starts are down 75% from their peak in January 2006.
• New home sales in the US fell to a 17-year low of 407,000 in November, according to the Commerce Department on Dec. 23. December new-home sales will be reported on 29th.
• US foreclosure filings grew 81% in 2008 over 2007, pushing more than 2.3m properties into default, auction, or seizure. (RealtyTrac)

The freefall in residential real estate continued through November. Overall, more than half of the metro areas had record annual declines.

—David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P.

…nonetheless…

It’s not going to be a terrible year for the housing market, believe it or not. I think these stabilizing forces are there, and over the next year you’ll see the housing market come back into equilibrium.

—Karl Case