Oh the pain of the deflating bubble.

Bloomberg:

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities declined 18.5 percent in December from a year earlier, the fastest drop on record, as foreclosures climbed and sales sank.

The decrease in the S&P/Case-Shiller index was more than forecast and followed an 18.2 percent drop in November. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007, and year-over-year records began in 2001. Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Board said prices in 2008 fell a record 8.2 percent.

Looking at the Case-Shiller index:

The current value is 139.14. 2003 Q3 was 138.41. 2003 Q4 the case-shiller index was 142.29.

So, home prices have dropped to late 2003 levels. By 2003 the United States was well into the housing bubble, so this might be a snapshot on the road down.

Attached to this post is the S&P Historical Case-Shiller index for the 20 metro areas they track, the top 10 and then the averages for the top 20.