Case-Shiller Home Price Index 7/31/12

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for May 2012 was released today. The 20-City Composite is down 0.67% compared to May 2011 (seasonally adjusted) and is up 0.91% compared to the previous month. 18 of the 20 cities in the Composite-20 were up in May compared to the previous month. There is a good chance that next month, the Composite-20 will show a year over year gain.

Throughout this housing cycle, housing prices in every area were highly correlated. However, each area has also reacted to events differently. In 1990 Los Angeles house prices fell more than other parts of the nation partly due to a plunge in aerospace-related employment. During the tech crash in the early 2000s, San Francisco home prices took a hit, whereas the rest of the nation wasn't really affected. Detroit has been hit hard with the housing crisis and the problems with the Big Three automobile manufacturers.

Below is an interactive graph. You can interact with the graph by choosing what to display. The CITY category contains all 20 markets as well as the Composite-10 and Composite-20 index. The choices in the TYPE category are All, Condos, and High, Low and Middle Tiers. The prices of homes in each city are divided into three tiers. Each city has different breakpoints. For example, for the latest release in Las Vegas the Low tier is homes under $113,574 and the High tier is over $175,507. In San Francisco the Low tier is under $328,591 and the high tier is over $593,442. The SA/NSA category allows you to view Seasonally Adjusted data (SA) and/or Non-Seasonally Adjusted data (NSA). If you left click on a category, the chart will update with only data for that item in that category. If you hold the CONTROL button down while left clicking, it will toggle that item on and off while leaving the other items in that category the same allowing you to add or subtract items. If you hold the SHIFT key down while left clicking, it will add all items in between where you clicked and the item you last clicked. You can clear all selections in a category by clicking the Filter Icon on the top right of each category (looks like a funnel with a X). You can also refresh the page to bring it back to its original state.

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Furthermore, these charts have limitations.  Economic data is often revised after the fact.  The market is forward looking and anticipates future events.  The unexpected can and will happen.  The market is continually changing.  The conditions of the past are different from the present.  Past performance is not an indication of future performance.