February data released
Today’s Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices bring mixed news. S&P analyzes a 10-city and 20-city composite as an indicator of national home price rates which as of February shows that overall, home prices in America are up with the 10-city rising 1.4% over February 2009 and the 20-city rising 0.6% in the same time.
Where it gets mixed up is that despite this being the first time since 2006 that the annual rates of change for both composites are positive, more than half of the cities in the larger composite experienced price declines.
According to Barron’s, “homebuilders were mixed on the news, with Toll Brothers (TOL) down 14 cents, or 0.6%, at $22.65, and Pulte Homes (PHM) up 48 cents, or 4%, at $13.52.”
Economist Scott Grannis points to recent numbers as news of hitting the bottom in real estate. Grannis said, “the resulting picture becomes quite clear: The great housing market bust is over, and a new growth cycle is underway.”
Case-Shiller data graphed:
Click any image to enlarge.
CC Licensed image courtesy of ceekay via Flickr.com.
Fred Glick
April 27, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Let’s see what the numbers are in the middle of the summer after all the FTHB tax credit hoopla expires.
Benn Rosales
April 27, 2010 at 4:29 pm
I think we’re going to see incentive to buy just like we did in the 80s via hud homes, $100 down, simple term financing as a means of moving inventory, fannie is already tinkering. Increases in grants, dp assistance programs and the like.
Greg Cooper
April 27, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Prices may stay flat or edge up this summer but UNITS will be down by the time May, June, July numbers are on the books. I’m with Fred….we’ll know in 90 days.
Danny @ Tampa Real Estate
April 27, 2010 at 5:00 pm
You are going to start to see tons of foreign investors coming and buying homes cash.
Justin Boland
April 27, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I’m curious about the homebuilder data. I see discussion about it a lot, but it doesn’t seem like their numbers/industry are an accurate indicator of much except incoming inventory. Their sentiment, their land buying, their payrolls — does that usually correlate to more important indicators, like home prices and sales volume, also going up?
Dunes
April 27, 2010 at 7:52 pm
May be a little early to start blowing up Balloons for the “Housing Market Recovery Party”
BawldGuy
April 29, 2010 at 11:37 am
Wondering what impact the coming defaults, and near term defaults, plus the almost sure to come increase in REO inventory coming to your local market will have? Apparently CS thinks not much.
Really?
Benn Rosales
April 29, 2010 at 11:53 am
I think you’re right Jeff, however, banks have seen and heard of the big bounce coming for over a year now, and if they’ve neglected to create actionable plans to manage plans to handle/soften that bounce by now… well, that would just be negligent. I see this several ways at this point, yes there was a tidal wave coming, but yes they’ve had time to move people to higher ground, and if it comes as a surprise, God help’em at this point.