Homes Prices Drop 2% to Post-Crisis Lows: Case-Shiller

S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for March (actually a 3 month average of January, February and March).This includes prices for 20 individual cities and and two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities), plus the Q1 2011 quarterly national house price index.Note: Case-Shiller reports NSA, I use the SA data.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly dropped in March, showing uneven progress in the industry. Purchases of previously owned houses, tabulated when a contract closes, fell 0.6% to a 4.92 million annual rate last month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected sales would increase to a 5 million rate. Prices climbed, reflecting more demand for higher-priced houses.

If there is one admirable thing about the Case Shiller Home Price Index report (which sadly shows data for February so a nearly three month delay) is that even according to its authors, it is the Non-Seasonally Adjusted number that is representative of what is going on in housing. And, as the chart below shows, very little is going on as the broader price level continues to undulate in a very tight range with little real moves to the up or downside.

WASHINGTON — A measure of U.S. home prices jumped 5 percent in September compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since July 2006. The gain reported by CoreLogic offered more evidence of a sustainable housing recovery. The real estate data provider also said Tuesday that prices declined 0.3 percent in September from August, the first drop after six straight increases. The monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted. CoreLogic says the monthly decline reflects the end of the summer home-buying season and not a softening in the housing recovery.

By Tim Plaehn: The May housing price report from S&P/Case-Shiller covers home price changes for March 2012 and the first quarter of 2012.

This relentless bull market inched closer to its all-time high despite a horrible reading on consumer confidence. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,553, +105.5 pts, +0.7 percentS&P 500: 1,563, +11.0 pts, +0.7 percentNASDAQ: 3,250, +15.4 pts, +0.4 percent And now the top stories: