Housing Double-Dip Worsens As Prices Fall To New Lows; Recovery Nears |
| Forbes - May 29, 2012 |
The feared double-dip in housing markets continues to grow deeper, with the Case-Shiller indexes hitting new post-crisis lows, reversing back to levels not seen since mid-2002. The rate of decline appears to be slowing, though, leading to some “cautious optimism” by economists that believe prices have found, or are close to finding, a floor. Analysts at Nomura expect home prices to turn positive by the end of the year, despite the recovery’s loss of momentum and possible spill-over effects from Europe.
All three of S&P/Case-Shiller’s main composites fell to new post-crisis lows in the first quarter, a report released on Tuesday showed. The national composite slid 2% during the first three months of 2012, and is down 1.9% year-over-year. The narrower 10-city composite is now down 2.8% annually, while the 20-city recorded similar declines, down 2.6% from a year ago.
Both composites are about 35% off their 2006 peaks, while five cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, and Portland) made fresh index lows in March. The tide could be beginning to turn, though, as the rate of decline has eased compared with the nine cities that hit fresh lows a month earlier. Only three cities, Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit, recorded annual declines.
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- Posted: 2012-05-29 12:29:36
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