The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index, a closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices, declined in December, 2009 3.1 percent from a year earlier.
On a month-to-month basis prices fell 0.2 percent in December from November, but when adjusted for seasonal factors the 20-city index was 0.3 percent higher.
The report, which was issued today, indicated that while its U.S. National Home Price Index fell in the fourth quarter of 2009, it improved in its annual rate of return as compared to what was reported in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it showed a 2.5 percent decline versus the fourth quarter of 2008, a significant improvement over the annual rates reported in the first, second and third quarters of the year, at minus 19 percent, minus 14.7 percent and minus 8.7 percent, respectively.
The report noted that its 10-city and 20-city composite indices saw improvements in their annual rates of return every month since the beginning of the year.
David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said that "as measured by prices, the housing market is definitely in better shape than it was this time last year, as the pace of deteriorization has stabilized for now." "However," he continued, "the rate of improvement seen during the summer of 2009 has not been sustained," adding that in recent months fewer and fewer Metropolitan Statistical Areas are reporting monthly gains in prices....We are in a seasonally slow period for home prices, however, so it is not surprising to see better statistics in the seasonally-adjusted data, where 14 of the markets and the two monthly composites all rose in December."
The report said that "as of the fourth quarter of 2009, average home prices across the United States are at similar levels to what they were in the summer of 2003."
The Southwest, it said, "continues to be a bright spot [in 2009, with San Diego posting its eighth consecutive monthly increase, and Los Angeles and Phoenix both posting their seventh."
In December, the New York metropolitan area had an index of 171.40, a 1.0 percent gain over November and a decline of 6.3 percent from the previous December. The indices have a base value of 100 in January, 2000.
On a month-to-month basis prices fell 0.2 percent in December from November, but when adjusted for seasonal factors the 20-city index was 0.3 percent higher.
The report, which was issued today, indicated that while its U.S. National Home Price Index fell in the fourth quarter of 2009, it improved in its annual rate of return as compared to what was reported in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it showed a 2.5 percent decline versus the fourth quarter of 2008, a significant improvement over the annual rates reported in the first, second and third quarters of the year, at minus 19 percent, minus 14.7 percent and minus 8.7 percent, respectively.
The report noted that its 10-city and 20-city composite indices saw improvements in their annual rates of return every month since the beginning of the year.
David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said that "as measured by prices, the housing market is definitely in better shape than it was this time last year, as the pace of deteriorization has stabilized for now." "However," he continued, "the rate of improvement seen during the summer of 2009 has not been sustained," adding that in recent months fewer and fewer Metropolitan Statistical Areas are reporting monthly gains in prices....We are in a seasonally slow period for home prices, however, so it is not surprising to see better statistics in the seasonally-adjusted data, where 14 of the markets and the two monthly composites all rose in December."
The report said that "as of the fourth quarter of 2009, average home prices across the United States are at similar levels to what they were in the summer of 2003."
The Southwest, it said, "continues to be a bright spot [in 2009, with San Diego posting its eighth consecutive monthly increase, and Los Angeles and Phoenix both posting their seventh."
In December, the New York metropolitan area had an index of 171.40, a 1.0 percent gain over November and a decline of 6.3 percent from the previous December. The indices have a base value of 100 in January, 2000.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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