U.S. House Prices Index Maintains Downward Trend
Housing-Market / US Housing Mar 28, 2012 - 02:53 AM GMTThe seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller Home Price Index held steady in January. Among the 20 metro areas that the index tracks, eight metros reported increases in prices (Seattle, Tampa, Miami, Washington, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Dallas, and Denver) during January, while it was unchanged in Boston and Las Vegas, and fell in the remaining metros.
On a year-to-year basis, the Case-Shiller Home Price registered a 3.8% decline reflecting lower prices in all metro areas from a year ago, with the exception of Miami and Phoenix where prices moved up. Although inventories of existing homes have dropped below the historical median, the number of foreclosed properties is projected to increase and raise the number of homes for sale in the near term, implying that home prices are unlikely to post a turnaround soon.
Asha Bangalore — Senior Vice President and Economisthttp://www.northerntrust.com
Asha Bangalore is Vice President and Economist at The Northern Trust Company, Chicago. Prior to joining the bank in 1994, she was Consultant to savings and loan institutions and commercial banks at Financial & Economic Strategies Corporation, Chicago.
Copyright © 2012 Asha Bangalore
The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Northern Trust Company. The Northern Trust Company does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of information contained herein, such information is subject to change and is not intended to influence your investment decisions.
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