March 29, 2011
For the fourth consecutive month, the Case-Shiller 20-City index fell by at least 1.0 percent. It is now down by 5.4 percent from its peak in July. Of the 20 cities in the index, 19 had a drop in housing prices in January, with the exception again being Washington, D.C. Prices in D.C. edged up by 0.1 percent. Prices are now down by 3.1 percent from their year-ago-levels. In nominal terms, prices are still 1.1 percent above their previous post-bubble low in April of 2009; however, in real terms they are already 2.2 percent lower.
Seattle and Portland continue to rank near the top for largest price declines, with prices falling by 2.4 percent in January in Seattle and by 1.8 percent in Portland. Over the last three months prices have fallen at an annual rate of 19.9 and 16.3 percent respectively in the two cities. The Midwest cities continued to see sharp declines, with prices in Minneapolis falling by 3.4 percent, in Chicago by 1.8 percent and in Detroit by 1.7 percent. Over the last three months, these cities have seen annual rates of price decline of 24.6 percent, 19.6 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively. The California cities are also continuing the process of deflating their bubbles. Prices in January fell by 0.6 percent in Los Angeles, by 1.2 percent in San Diego, and by 1.7 percent in San Francisco. The annual rate of decline over the last three months in these cities was 9.2 percent, 7.2 percent, and 14.9 percent, respectively. These declines may accelerate as the impact of the state’s homebuyer tax credit fades.
Check out our latest Housing Market Monitor for more.
