HOME PRICE “IMPROVEMENTS” IN 19 OF 20 CASE-SCHILLER AREAS
July 5th, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance, Seller Strategies
As I work with buyers and sellers in Chantilly and Northern Virginia, I like to keep a watchful eye out for how our area is similar or different than what I am seeing in the national trends. I don’t have a definitive answer, and never will because the market is dynamic and oh so local. I see variations down to the neighborhood level, as supply and demand exerts its influence from community to community.
As the present moment, in my travels, I see a lack of listings of non-distressed properties. But these things are fluid.
Looking at the national level for a moment, I note that the monthly Case-Shiller Index was a bit different most recently, with 19 of the 20 measured markets indicating a slowing of home price declines for April.
Here are some of the headlines covering the latest report:
- Case-Shiller Home Prices Decline Only 18% (Business Week)
- Case-Shiller Less Bad (Seeking Alpha)
- Home Prices In 20 Cities Drop Less Than Expected (Bloomberg)
Case-Schiller has it critics. For example, it only includes 20 cities. Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio and San Jose are not included from the report and yet each of these cities ranks among the country’s 10 most populous areas.
Nevertheless, it appears that at least the pace of falling prices is slowing. This makes for three months where this pattern has been present in Case-Schiller.
We’ll keep an eye out for what May and June show.
