Sour news on L.A. housing market

Prices were down 1.5 percent from September to October and down 4.9 percent from October 2010, according to the Case-Shiller Index. Actually, all but one of the 20 metro areas surveyed were down on a month-to-month basis, and over the last year only Detroit and Washington, D.C. posted gains. From press release:

"Atlanta and the Midwest are regions that really stand out in terms of recent relative weakness, [says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices]. "Atlanta was down 5.0% over the month, after having fallen by 5.9% in September. It also has the weakest annual return, down 11.7%. Chicago, Cleveland Detroit and Minneapolis all posted monthly declines of 1.0% or more in October. These markets were some of the strongest during the spring/summer buying season. However, Detroit is the healthiest when viewed on an annual basis. It is up 2.5% versus October 2010. Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas are four markets where average prices are below their January 2000 levels; and Atlanta and Las Vegas posted new lows in October.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence surged to the highest level since April and is near a post-recession peak. The Conference Board index rose almost 10 points to 64.5, up from a revised 55.2 in November. Analysts had expected 59. The big question is whether that increased confidence was reflected in holiday sales. (AP)