U.S. home prices fell at slower pace in June, Case-Shiller says
Filed under: Economy, Investing
The U.S. housing sector's long, slow voyage back to something like health continues. U.S. home prices in 20 cities declined at a 15.4 percent annual pace in June -- a considerably smaller decline than May's annual pace, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price survey.Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index to fall 16.4 percent in June, on a year-over-year basis. The index fell at a 17.1 percent pace in May and 17.9 percent in April.
Further, home prices in the 10-city index declined at a 15.1 percent annual rate in June, compared to a 16.8 percent annual rate in May.
After 16 consecutive months of record annual declines, beginning in October 2007 and ending in January 2009, the indices have now shown five consecutive months of an improvement in annual returns.
Equally significant, only two cities, Detroit and Las Vegas, registered price declines in June: 18 cities registered price increases.
And there was especially good news for Cleveland-area residents: your city registered the largest increase in June, 4.2 percent.
Further, on a Q2-to-Q2 basis, prices declined 14.9 percent, still a large decline, but a substantial improvement compared to the record 19.1 percent decline in Q1-to-Q1.
June data: "Continued firming"
"This is another positive report, one that shows continued firming," economist Andrew Hill told DailyFinance Tuesday. "We're starting to pull out of the housing decline, with actual price increases, which is gratifying because of large 3-year declines. We still have a ways to go before we can say a home sector recovery has begun but the June report is more evidence of housing sector stabilization."
The areas with the largest annual percentage declines were: Phoenix, -31.6 percent, Las Vegas, -32.4 percent, Detroit, -25.0 percent, Miami, -23.4 percent, and San Francisco, -22.0 percent.
Year-over-year percentage price changes in other major U.S. cities were as follows: New York, -11.9 percent, Chicago, -16.7 percent, Boston, -5.9 percent, Washington, D.C., -11.8 percent, Atlanta, -13.7 percent, Tampa, -19.5 percent, Dallas, -2.2 percent, Denver, -2.6 percent, and Seattle, -16.1 percent.
Originally greeted by Wall Street with a shrug, S&P/Case-Shiller home price data rose to market-mover status in 2008 as it became clear that the United States' housing boom during the past decade was, in fact, a bubble fueled considerably by mortgage market excesses, from borrower to lender. The bursting of that bubble triggered record home mortgage foreclosures and mortgage back securities defaults (toxic assets), which led to the financial crisis that the U.S. and world are still trying to end today.
As a result, investors, economists, homebuilders, and homeowners alike now closely-monitor Case-Shiller home price data in order to discern clues as to when the housing slump may end -- a recovery that historically has contributed to U.S. GDP growth.
Economic Analysis: Notch another modest victory for the U.S. housing sector. Price declines in 20 major cities continue to decelerate -- which means they are bottoming. And, as noted, they're rising in most major American cities. Still, investors and potential home buyers should not become overly bullish: home inventories remain high, and any signs of economic weakness, or a failure of the U.S. economy to recover on time, could cause prices to fall back. That said, if the nation's economy continues to recover, the firming of home prices and the upward trend in selected cities should continue.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-25-2009 @ 11:01AM
ken said...
So where is the positive spin on all of this the values are still falling? Sure the rate of decline will decrease when you get to a point that you are giving your house away. common sense when to take a house that was worth 150,000.00 and the value drops to 90,000.00 due to home foreclosures. in the area. this home will now sell fast does not mean things are turning around only means that some who could afford the house got a good deal.
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8-25-2009 @ 12:13PM
bailoutsos said...
5 pages of Trustee sales listed in today's paper in my area. Yes Bernanke, America is on the "Road to Recovery."
8-25-2009 @ 11:07AM
Kim said...
THIS ARTICLE MAKES ME LAUGH AND REMINDS ME OF AN OLD JOKE DEPICTING FALSE HOPE... AS A MAN IS FALLING FROM THE TOP OF A 70 STORY BUILDING HE REPLIES, "SO FAR SO GOOD !!! SO FAR SO GOOD !!!."
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8-25-2009 @ 11:22AM
FOXYLYNX said...
THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD NEWS! THERE IS A SECOND WAVE OF 5 YR ARM RESETS COMING UP IN 2011 - ANOTHER BLOW TO THE DELICATE HOUSING MARKET. DON'T EXPECT ANY "GREEN JOBS" ANY TIME SOON, OR ANY JOB NO MATTER WHAT COLOR.
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8-25-2009 @ 11:53AM
KELLY REISINGER said...
PRICES WOULDNT BE FALLING SO HARD, HAD THE BUBBLE BEEN PRICKED IN 2003
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8-25-2009 @ 12:07PM
David said...
Great, I already owe the bank $100,000 more than my house is worth. Happy to find out next year I will only owe them $125,000 more than my house is worth instead of $150,000.
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8-25-2009 @ 12:12PM
john said...
Joseph lazarro, you are a fool, and a disgrace to anything journalism related.
This type of puffery would get you hired at CNBC.
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8-25-2009 @ 1:20PM
jack said...
You know, if you eat a cake, made of crap, it's still crap.
Howevery you dress this pig, it's still a pig. Way to go, sugarcoat the bad news.
I can hardly wait for the Revolution, the Headline will read:
Obama brings country together.
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8-27-2009 @ 10:56PM
ruth said...
I just dont understand how the market goes up when no one has money to buy extras. I live in Fl. people keep tell us our {real estate} market is down. I wish someone would tell the Brokers who wont tell the peolpe to decreses their prices to the real price. I know people do not want to loose money but, lets get real. Basicly all properties are worth half the amount now. If people would realize this real estate would move.
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8-25-2009 @ 2:10PM
Cathy said...
by the way, as many of you are finding out, a house is a place to live...not an investment! just like a car is transportation and food is to eat...
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8-25-2009 @ 2:16PM
Red Roses said...
How can they keep losing their homes when everyone has already lost it. They will have to slow down a bit because their is not any more home to lose value of. Dumb and dumber don,t you get it. Let us people start making a move to a better Goverment and President. If he get elected again something is really wrong not that there is anything right anymore.
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8-25-2009 @ 4:05PM
Ken said...
I believe Obama make a deal with the banks that if he bails them out they will wait to put most of there foreclosure homes on the market or at a very slow pace for 6 months. This will make it look like the housing market is getting better. But all you have to do is look at the newspaper and see all the filings. In Oct or Nov. there is going to be a very very large am't of houses put on the market from foreclosures. The deal was to wait 6 months after the bailout to put them on the market from what I have heard. Well folks you have not seen anything yet when these homes hit the market and the gold diggers put very low bids on them and the banks must take the offers. Well we all know what that does to the value of our homes when the sales go thru. And the Cties are making the banks take the offers so get people back into these homes. So don't be fooled and hang on for a rough ride ahead this next year. And I expect another 20% drop in value this next 12 months nationwide and 30% in California and Nevada. Maybe 35% or more drop in Southern California Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
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8-26-2009 @ 3:26AM
r said...
I don't understand how they can post 2 stories about an hour apart from each other with one headline reading
"U.S. home prices fall at a slower pace"
and the other reading
"Home prices surge 3%"
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