Home for sale in Memphis, TN. Photo by Lindsey Turner.
Confidence down, home prices down
After America lost its top credit rating and the stock market has been on a roller coaster, consumer confidence is at its lowest level in over two years, according to The Conference Board. Additionally, today, the S&P Case-Shiller data has been released, revealing single-family home prices fell in June, although only 0.1 percent which many do not consider a change in pricing.
Reuters economists predicted the prices would remain the same, Zillow economists predicted they would rise just slightly in the 20 cities Case-Shiller studies, but the index remains relatively unchanged from May, while falling 4.5 percent from June 2010.
“More confirmation that housing is moving sideways”
Foreclosures continue to be the dominant factor in shaping the real estate economy while demand remains lower than desired, credit and lending remains extremely tight and unemployment remains a plague on the overall economy.
“They’re not as weak as I was looking for,” Brian Jones, an economist as Societe Generale in New York told Reuters. “They’re weaker than the street was looking for. Basically this is just more confirmation that housing is moving sideways. It’s a lagging indicator. We already have building permits and starts for July, as well as existing and new home sales and they’re all soft. The stuff that comes after this does not look good. The only good thing was that on a not-seasonally adjusted basis, no area in the country — of the 20 cities that reported in — reported a decline in prices from May to June.”
