The news on housing can best be described as terrible.

From the WSJ, here is all you need to know about the numbers:

Sales of existing homes tumbled 8.6% in November from the prior month to an annual pace of 4.49 million units, the National Association of Realtors said. The figure reflects contract closings, which lag behind sales activity, and as a result capture the credit-market turmoil that hit the economy starting in mid-September.

New-home sales declined 2.9% to an annual rate of 407,000 units, the Commerce Department said, continuing a nearly three-year decline.

If you want to look on the bright side, these are November numbers and that’s one of the slowest months for housing. Additionally, the lower mortgage interest rates wouldn’t be reflected at all since these sales represent contracts entered into before that event. So hope springs eternal.

If the Obama team thinks that they can turn this one around quickly, I fear they may be in for an unpleasant surprise.