S&P/Case-Shiller: Home prices fell in November

No surprise: Home prices fell again in November.

An index of home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell at a record annual pace in November, to levels not seen since 2004, according to a report released Tuesday.

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a sampling of 20 cities from across the nation, fell a record 18.2% over the 12 months ended Nov. 30. That brought the index to its lowest point since February 2004. From its peak in mid-2006, the index has plunged a whopping 25.1%.

Eleven of the 20 cities showed record declines, and the 12-month price drop for 14 of the cities was a double-digit percentage.

"The freefall in residential real estate continued through November 2008," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, in a prepared statement. He said the 20-city index has fallen for every month since August 2006, a total of 28 consecutive months.

Keep in mind that this index is S&P's "20 city" index, not its national index (which only gets released quarterly). The 20 city index is not an accurate measure of the nation as a whole because—duh!—it only tracks 20 cities. However, it does give an indication of what the national trend is like.