Looking at the seasonally adjusted results from today’s S&P/Case-Shiller home price report you can see quite clearly that home prices are showing a fundamentally weak trend.In fact, ten markets are now setting new lows having seen a temporary boost coming from the government housing boondoggles and then completely reverting once the scams were complete.
These markets provide fairly solid evidence that the housing is still a pariah among asset classes and that buyer sentiment is likely still on the decline as the “organic” (non-stimulated and non-distressed) sales trend leans further in the favor of caution and thrift.
As we get further and further from the mania days of the early aughts, it’s likely that attitudes toward housing as a vehicle for wealth accumulation and investment will continue to wane.
As buyer enthusiasm and confidence continue to erode and distressed properties still abound, prices will likely continue to slide.
Keep watching these data series in order to draw your own insights into the nation’s housing dilemma.
