Home prices continue to decline, according to the most recent S&P Case-Shiller indexes released Tuesday, which showed the 10-city and 20-city composites down 3.5% and 3.8% respectively on an annual basis. With 10 of the 20 cities surveyed posting monthly declines as well, the only good thing out of the report is that the rate of price declines has slowed.
While non-seasonally adjusted data seems to show an improvement, with both composites up 0.2%, the reality looks much bleaker. Seasonally adjusted data shows the 10-city down 0.2% and the 10-city sliding 0.1% in August over July, a fourth consecutive month of declines.
Las Vegas continues to set records on the way down, marking a new index low, with prices now 59.5% off their August 2006 peak, right in the middle of the housing bonanza that preceded the storm.
On the flip side,
D.C. continues to outperform, marking positive monthly and yearly gains in the latest report. Washington D.C. and
Detroit are the only two cities to post positive yearly numbers, which, in the case of the Motor City, responds to the fact that it was so battered during the crisis that its prices have already bottomed out...
