The S and P Case Shiller home prices indexes have reported gains, of sorts, in home prices. The price indexes in February showed a rise in home prices compared with the previous February, showing a modest spike, but the prices were still technically modestly declining. Though the housing market is not fully recovered, it is believed to be showing signs of improvement. Some people are still underwater and far from mortgage loan modification.
First gain since 2006 reported by Case Shiller
MarketWatch reports home prices posted their first gain since December 2006. February home prices were 0.6% higher than they were last February. The bump in home prices is credited for that, as many improvements in real estate these days are, to the homebuyer tax credit. It still doesn’t mean you’ll get a home with a small loan, but they’re low enough to be bargains.
But there is also bad news
The bad news is that home prices are actually still declining. Despite the February home prices bump, they are still down overall. They actually fell 0.9% from January to February. Case Shiller indexes for 18 of 20 cities monitored saw declines, according to CNN Money.
We are not out of the woods yet for economic recovery
David Blitzer, chairmen of the S and P index committee said the data might “point to a risk that home prices could decline further before experiencing any sustained gains.” He also indicated that true recovery of the housing market hadn’t truly begun, though it has shown some modest improvements. Prices are still very low, but more people are starting to buy. (Granted, as more people buy low, that will start trending prices upward eventually.)
So what next?
The indexes of home prices of S and P Case Shiller are now equal with fall of 2003. The high water mark was 2006 in June, and since then home prices have plummeted 32.6 percent. It may be some time before a full recovery is realized.
Article Resources
MarketWatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-prices-show-year-over-year-gain-sp-2010-04-27?reflink=MW_news_stmp
CNN Money
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/27/real_estate/home_prices_up/index.htm
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