Macroeconomics

While analysts fret over the ongoing nausea of banks exposed to the housing market's choppy waters, home prices have continued their steady descent. Indeed, even though home sales have ticked upward in certain California markets in the last year, overall prices have sunken. "These data suggest that plummeting prices are starting to stimulate some activity among bargain hunters even though most real estate experts say price declines are likely to continue for some time," said an analyst at Sandler O'Neill today. [MarketWatch]