It's Case-Shiller tea-leaf reading time again: today's numbers indicate that declines in home prices have "slowed" in the metropolitan areas measured by the home-price index. Lucky for us, San Francisco tops out along with Phoenix for the highest month-to-month gains. Gloominess from the previous report seems to be on hold, with the tax credit for homebuyers extended beyond its initial expiration date into the spring, and also expanded beyond first-time buyers to current buyers. As is always the case, the return of the house hunting depends on more than just tax credits: "Until we get job growth, we won't get complete healing of the housing market," says an economist.
· Case-Shiller: Home price declines slow in November [USA Today]
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