Rocky Start for Real Estate

It looks like 2008 isn't starting out so great for realtors. The housing market continues to look gloomy according to some disappointing stats released by industry experts. Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard and Poor's, David M. Blitzer says the declining market trends of 2007 have continued to wreak havoc into the New Year.

"Home prices continue to fall, decelerate and reach market lows across the nation," he said. "No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis, with 19 of the 20 metro areas reporting annual declines in January and the remaining - Charlotte, North Carolina -eking out a benign 1.8% growth rate." Meanwhile in cities like Las Vegas and Miami, housing pries have plummeted 19% in a year; the figure is 16% for Los Angeles and San Diego.