Housing index still down

L.A. prices fell 3.7 percent between December and January and 16.5 percent between January 2006 and 2007. That's according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, which is based on a methodology somewhat different from the surveys done by Dataquick and others – but which is coming up with much the same results. The L.A. numbers are not the worst in the country - that distinction goes to Miami, Vegas and Phoenix - but the falloff is still pretty sharp. Meanwhile, consumer confidence slumped again in March, the third straight month of sharp declines. Of course, it would have been shocking to see confidence go up, given the sky-is-falling sentiments by economists and pundits. Here's the S&P news release.