The S&P/ Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices could not have been worse for September. They showed a near collapse in house prices. Earlier this month, an S&P analyst opined that home prices could drop another 7% to 10% next year.
The new Case-Shiller report said
The U.S. National Home Price Index declined 2.0% in the third quarter of 2010, after having risen 4.7% in the second quarter. Nationally, home prices are 1.5% below their year-earlier levels. In September, 18 of the 20 MSAs covered by S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices and both monthly composites were down; and only the two composites and five MSAs showed year-over-year gains. While housing prices are still above their spring 2009 lows, the end of the tax incentives and still active foreclosures appear to be weighing down the market.
The hardest hit cities were Cleveland, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Portland. Las Vegas, finally, recovered slightly. Prices in Los Angeles and New York City also recovered.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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