With some signs that the economy is slowly, but surely, on its way to recovery, people in Tennessee, and across the country, are hoping things will continue to move in the right direction. Unfortunately, one economic indicator shows that not every sector of the economy is growing. In nearly every part of the country home prices still continue to trend downward. For those facing foreclosure or underwater mortgages, this is not the best news.

In their recent report, Case-Shiller and Standard & Poor's indicated that home prices dropped throughout most of the U.S. during November 2011. This was the third consecutive month in which basically every city measured in the study saw decreased home prices. Indicators suggest that this trend will not be reversed for quite some time.

Increases in home sales are necessary for overall home prices to climb. In order for home purchases to increase adequately, wage rates and employment numbers must improve as well. An increase in home prices may not come until 2015, according to one economist.

Those who are dealing with an underwater home mortgage will certainly be impacted by this trend. So long as a person's home value stays below what they owe on the home, they will be in a tricky financial situation. Obviously, this situation is tremendously stressful. People dealing with this problem might consider professional advice in order to weigh all of their options to improve their financial standing and avoid foreclosure.

The report, however, might shine a little light on the housing situation. Some economists believe that housing prices will stabilize over the next couple years before they begin to trend upward. This means that the home mortgage situation for many will not get worse, but will likely improve over time. The Southern U.S. was hit particularly hard by the housing crisis, so stable home prices are a step toward improvement.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Home prices dropped in November in most US cities," Derek Kravitz, Jan. 31, 2012