Home Prices Fell

Home prices fell 0.4 percent nationally in the third quarter, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

That's the first decline after 50 straight quarters of appreciation averaging 1.62 percent per quarter.The decrease in housing prices has only begun to eat into the nearly 13 years of quarterly price gains.

The National Association of Home Builders said in November that only 42 percent of all homes sold in the third quarter were priced low enough to be affordable for families earning the national median income of $59,000.