If you’re asking me to predict when the housing market will hit bottom and when prices are likely to start climbing again, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. My housing crystal ball is on the blink. I can tell you, though, that at this point we’re still looking at one bleak house scenario. If anything, the latest price statistics suggest that the market is still falling. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 large metropolitan areas was down 16.6% in August compared to its level a year ago. That’s more than the index was down for the year ending in July (16.3%) and in June (15.9%). National Association of Realtor stats for September also show a decline.

On a marginally positive note, there has been somewhat of an uptick in sales of both existing and new homes. But given the fact that foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies have also been rising and the job market and the economy generally have been softening, I don’t think anybody believes that the recent improvement in sales represents an imminent reversal of fortune.

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