Below are 3 excerpts from the very prestigious, highly respected Case-Shiller Report of February 28, 2012. No one but no one dares to dispute Case-Schiller. The upshot of today's report is that US housing (like US unemployment) is recovering at the slowest rate since the Great Depression. Multiple years to go to recovery, thanks to the business bashing, energy bashing, re-distributional policies of the current administration. Celebrations re the "improving" economy, like the reports of the death of Mark Twain, and the reports of Schrodinger's cat having come back to life, are all way premature, though they may be incrementally true.
"The chart above depicts the annual returns of the U.S. National, the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite Home Price Indices. The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 4.0% decline in the fourth quarter of 2011 over the fourth quarter of 2010. In December, the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual rates of decline of 3.9% and 4.0%, respectively."
"As of the fourth quarter of 2011, average home prices across the United States are back at their late 2002 levels. With this month’s report, the National Index level hit a new low, falling 3.8% over the 4th quarter and down 4.0% versus the fourth quarter of 2010."
"As of December 2011, average home prices for these two composites (i. e., the 10-City and 20-City Composite Indices) hit new record lows. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks through December 2011, the peak-to-current decline for both the 10-City Composite and 20-City Composite is -33.8%; the same as the national composite."
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