Home prices… today the Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major metropolitan areas was released. The index, the the. From April through May when unadjusted for seasonal factors showed a very slim 1% increase on average.When viewing this data, one should keep in mind that the. From mid-March through the end of August is typically the strongest seasonal marketing time for real estate.
When one looks beyond the major headlines that are extolling this modest 1% increase, a more salient fact becomes apparent. Month to month data is interesting and can show up a trend just as it’s about to start, but for me the more important number is the year to date change. And so with today’s release of the Case-Shiller home price index, I feel the most important figure is that home prices for may 2011 when compared to may 2010 were off 4.5%!
Looking at a chart for this home price index it’s quite apparent that the housing market double dip in March and is now just one percentage point over its all time low record. just for of the 20 major metropolitan areas tracked by this index showed an increase for may 2010. These four areas were:Washington DC at up 1.3%,Los Angeles up 0.5%,San Diego up 0.2% and San Francisco up 1.8%. Also,keep in mind that the Case-Shiller indices include foreclosure home re-sales and so, some believe the index numbers may not accurately reflect the real home values.                                                                                                                          Â