Case-Shiller results – housing market remains unsettled

By Prieur du Plessis, on April 28th, 2010 posted in: Economy, Housing

Data through February 2010, released yesterday by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, show that the annual rates of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved in February compared to January 2010.

For the first time since December 2006, the annual rates of change for the two Composites are positive. The 10-City Composite is up 1.4% from where it was in February 2009, and the 20-City Composite is up 0.6% versus the same time last year. However, 11 of 20 cities saw year-over-year declines.

Source: StandardandPoors, April 27, 2010.

“Beginning last November, each report showed gains as fewer cities reported year-over-year declines than in the previous month; those gains ended with this report. Further, in six cities prices were at their lowest levels since the prices peaked three-to-four years ago. These data point to a risk that home prices could decline further before experiencing any sustained gains. While the year-over-year data continued to improve for 18 of the 20 MSAs and the two Composites, this simply confirms that the pace of decline is less severe than a year ago. It is too early to say that the housing market is recovering,” says David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s.

The video below features an interview with Blitzer.

Source: CNBC, April 27, 2010.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, click here to subscribe to updates to Investment Postcards from Cape Town by e-mail.