NEW YORK CITY-With the economy and consumer confidence remaining in limbo, home prices are continuing their downward spiral. The latest S&P/Case Shiller home price indices show that 20 American cities declined by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2011, marking the lowest levels since the housing crisis began in mid-2006.

In December alone, data shows that 18 out of the 20 cities saw monthly declines from November, including new lows for already hard-hit areas in states like Georgia, Nevada, Washington, Illinois and Florida. At -12.8%, Atlanta continued to post the lowest annual return, followed by Las Vegas (-8.8%), Chicago (-6.5%), Seattle (-5.6%) and Tampa (-4.3%).

“In terms of pricing, the housing market ended 2011 on a very disappointing note,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, in the report. “While we thought we saw some signs of stabilization in the middle of 2011, it appears that neither the economy nor consumer confidence was strong enough to move the market in a positive direction as the year ended.”