Home prices falling faster in September

Hot Air ^ | NOVEMBER 30, 2010 | ED MORRISSEY

[RobinMasters]

The housing bubble continues to deflate despite the Obama administration’s efforts to delay the inevitable. Housing prices sank faster in September than in any time this year after seeing them rise briefly in the spring, thanks to short-term interventions by the federal government. As foreclosures start increasing, values will drop even further:

Home prices are falling faster in the nation’s largest cities, and a record number of foreclosures are expected to push prices down further through next year.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday fell 0.7 percent in September from August. Eighteen of the cities recorded monthly price declines.

Cleveland recorded the largest decline. Prices there dropped 3 percent from a month earlier. Prices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, which had been showing strength this year, also dropped in September from August.

[RobinMasters]

Let me guess... It was unexpected, right ?

[RobRoy]

Seattlebubble.com has a nice interactive graph on their home page that shows just what is happening.

http://seattlebubble.com/blog/

[I still care]

Don’t house prices always fall in September? people don’t want to move the first school month.

I expected this; don’t know why anyone else wouldn’t.

[Jedidah]

Of course the market dropped from August to September. It does that every year.

We’re in the dead time for home sales. Few want to buy/sell/move over the holidays. The tell will be what happens in spring when the market generally picks up for summer moves.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I know dropping prices are not good. On the other hand, a 0.7% drop isn’t that much. I have a tire that deflates quicker than that....

[M. Dodge Thomas]

And it’s not just the resale market; one of my apartments - a really nice unit here in Evanston IL, just north of Chicago - which has never rented for less than $1,300 is still vacant though we have gradually lowered the asking rent to $990.

Part of part of the reason is the recession, part is the time of year, but the biggest factor is that we are in competition with recently constructed condos whose absentee owners are desperately trying to rent them for *something* to help cover the holding costs while they wait for things to improve to the point where they are not underwater on the existing mortgage.

At this point, it looks to me like it will be 2014-15 at the earliest before the market for such units clears in my area.

[Oatka]

Interesting graph. Looks like a Double Dip coming up.

[RobRoy]

>>Interesting graph. Looks like a Double Dip coming up.<<

Yeah, and the only reason it’s “double” is because there was a spike when the government basically increased the price of homes by $8,000 for a short time. Then it went back to its default path - dropping.

[CaspersGh0sts]

Last year home prices fell 0.4% in September. This year it’s 0.6%. That’s the message they’re sending.

[longtermmemmory]

(outside of the DC area where gov jobs have created an ecconomic boon town)

ALL homes are really 50% of their original price OR LESS.

prices are more in line with 10 years ago.

[21twelve]

Dang - I wish I hadn’t clicked on that. I figured seeing as we bought our house way back in 1993 we would still be quite aways ahead. From the chart, the current prices are still BELOW the 1993 levels.

[CowboyJay]

Home prices are back pretty close to long-term historical mean. So they're starting to see some support from investment/speculation. Problem is disposable incomes are still dropping, so there's still not much actual consumer demand out there. Prices may go below mean.