Sunday, April 5, 2009

Signs of Hope in Housing? Not in the Case-Shiller Data

This BusinessWeek video discusses how low prices and tax breaks might be luring buyers into ravaged housing markets like Las Vegas and the Florida coast. Most of the signs of life are in the foreclosure market, but it might be the beginning of the end of the housing downturn as real estate inventory levels appear to be improving slightly.

However, the recently released Case-Shiller housing data showed a continued weakness in housing nationwide. The Case-Shiller data shows a continued acceleration to the downside at a record pace. The 10 and 20 city index show declines from their peak at 30% and the bubble cities with declines of 40% or more - with Phoenix having the largest percentage drop of nearly 50%.