Despite its supposed seasonal adjustment, Case-Shiller home price growth in May tumbled for the 3rd year in a row (in fact, with revisions, the 0.23% drop since March is the biggest drop since June 2014). This is the first consecutive home price drop since 2012. The almost unbelievable 'stability' of the 5-ish percent growth in Case-Shiller home prices for the last 2 years is impressive if only for its historical lack of precedence but May's 5.24% YoY rise in the slowest since Sept 2015.
May we suggest the PhDs get back to work on their seasonal adjustments:
Year over Year gains are the slowest since Sept 2015… but 'stable'
This is the biggest 2-month drop in prices since June 2014…
From the report:
Portland, Seattle, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities over each of the last four months. In May, Portland led the way with a 12.5% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle at 10.7%, and Denver with a 9.5% increase. Eight cities reported greater price increases in the year ending May 2016 versus the year ending April 2016.
“Home prices continue to appreciate across the country,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Overall, housing is doing quite well. In addition to strong prices, sales of existing homes reached the highest monthly level since 2007 as construction of new homes showed continuing gains. The SCE Housing Expectations Survey published by the New York Federal Reserve Bank shows that consumers expect home prices to continue rising, though at a somewhat slower pace."
“Regional patterns seen in home prices are shifting. Over the last year, the Pacific Northwest has been quite strong while prices in the previously strong spots of San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles saw more modest increases. The two hottest areas during the housing boom were Florida and the Southwest. Miami and Tampa have recovered in the last few months while Las Vegas and Phoenix remain weak. When home prices began to recover, New York and Washington saw steady price growth; now both are among the weakest areas in the country.”
Charts: Bloomberg
via http://ift.tt/2aaTwHG Tyler Durden