The U.S housing market has shown its first quarter to quarter improvement in three years, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index. While this provides some good news for investment in the real estate market, there are still other factors that require careful study, particularly on a geographic basis. The following article from HousingWire has more.
The Standard & Poor’s (S&P)/Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index showed some positive quarterly improvement, gaining 2.9% in Q209 from Q109. It marks the first quarter-over-quarter improvement in three years.
But the index was down 14.9% in Q209 from Q208, and the 10- and 20-city composites also saw similar year-over-year declines. Average home prices are now at their early 2003 levels.
The 10-city index fell 15.1% between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009 and the 20-city index was down 15.4% over the same period.
Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee
- Billions of dollars in funding available
- Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
- This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid
The rates of decline appeared to slow since last quarter. The national index decline was less than the 19.1% seen between Q109 and Q108, and less than the first-quarter year-over-year declines of 19.4% and 19.1% for the 10- and 20-city indices, respectively.
“For the second month in a row, we’re seeing some positive signs,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “As seen in both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data, as well as the charts, there are hints of an upward turn from a bottom. However, some of the hardest hit cities, especially in the Sun Belt, show continued weakness.”
The 10-City and 20-city composites posted the second consecutive monthly increase in June. Both were up 1.4% from May to June, and up 0.5% in May over April. All but two of the 20 metro areas — Las Vegas and Detroit — saw improvements in their monthly and annual data.
But the recent results doesn’t necessarily mean a bottoming out in the housing market.
“We have seen rebounds before that have fizzled,” warned Robert Shiller, co-founder of Case-Shiller Weiss and Yale University economics professor. “It really is too soon to call this a turning point.”
This article has been republished from HousingWire. You can also view this article at HousingWire, a mortgage and real estate news site.
