Data Shows a Double Dip in Housing

If you haven’t moved in with your neighbors yet, you’re behind the trend. Home prices fell 1.3 percent across 20 major metropolitan areas in October—the third straight month of decline and a sure sign that there’s been a double dip in housing. Economists expect prices to decline into next spring and to wipe out nearly all the gains in home prices that had been made earlier this year. However, other economic indicators—with the glaring exception of unemployment figures—are much more positive: retail sales and exports have returned to pre-recession levels; and manufacturing is growing.