Whether measured by month or by year, housing prices are continuing a downward trend in most major cities across the United States, according to new data from rating agency Standard & Poor's.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index found a 1.3 percent drop in home prices from October to November 2011 in a 20-city composite sample of the nation's top metropolitan areas. Compared with the same period in 2010, the news was even worse. Over the course of the year, the 20-city composite dropped by 3.7 percent. When viewed against the housing market's peak in 2006, prices are down 32.8 percent.

Nineteen of the 20 metropolitan areas saw more significant declines in the month-to-month ratings, with Chicago losing the most value. That city's housing prices fell 3.4 percent from October to November.

“The only positive for the month was Phoenix, one of the hardest hit in recent years," according to David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices.

Still, prices are down 3.6 percent year-to-year in the Arizona capital. Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and Las Vegas also saw significant declines year-to-year.

The decline in home prices might not be positive news for the economy as a whole, but it could be good news for prospective homebuyers. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there were more than 550,000 veterans living in Arizona as of 2010. These former servicemembers might secure a VA home loan to take advantage of the current buyers' market.

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