美国房屋市场萎靡不振给美国困境中的经济雪上加霜。一个被密切关注的指数显示，美国20个主要城市10月份的住房价格与去年同期相比下跌了创记录的18%。美国房屋价格目前下跌到2004年3月份以来的低位。
一些经济学家认为，美国处于困境中的房屋市场是美国经济困难的核心，他们警告说，美国在房屋市场恢复之前将无法走出衰退。
与此同时，从衣服到电子产品的各种物品价格打折几乎没有刺激销售或者增强消费者的信心。一个行业贸易组织说，12月27号结束的那个星期的销售量与去年相比下跌将近2%。一份报告还提到这个星期的销售量比前一个星期下跌了1.5%。
一个私营研究机构说，这个组织测定的美国消费者信心指数12月创下最低水平。
A struggling U.S. economy is not getting any help from the battered housing market. A closely watched index today (Tuesday) shows home prices in 20 major U.S. cities plunged a record 18 percent in October (compared to the same time last year). U.S. home prices have now fallen to levels not seen since March 2004.
Some economists say the troubled U.S. housing market is at the center of the country’s economic woes, and warn the U.S. will not be able to pull out of a recession until the market recovers.
Meanwhile, discounted prices on everything from clothes to electronics are doing little to spark sales or boost consumer confidence. An industry trade group (the International Council of Shopping Centers) says (today) sales for the week ending December 27th fell almost two percent compared to last year. The report (issued with Goldman Sachs) also notes a one-and-a-half-percent drop from the week before.
A private research group (the Conference Board) says (today) its index of U.S. consumer confidence hit an all-time low in December.