Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released February 2012 values for its Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the prices of existing single-family homes. The index in each metropolitan area extends from a base value of 100 in January 2000. For example, Chicago metro’s February 2012 index value was 105.4 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 5.4 percent appreciation since January 2000 for a typical home in the Chicago market. (Note: values referenced below are not seasonally adjusted; due to delays in reporting, a January index for Charlotte, NC was not published).
- From January to February, annual rates of change improved in both composite indices, as well as 15 MSAs; however, the Chicago annual rate declined slightly from -6.6 percent in January to -6.9 percent in February.
- Phoenix, San Diego and Miami were the only metro areas, of 20, that experienced monthly increases in home prices; in Chicago, home prices decreased by 2.5% from January to February 2012 before seasonal adjustment. “While there might be pieces of good news in this report, such as some improvement in many annual rates of return, February 2012 data confirm that, broadly-speaking, home prices continued to decline in the early months of the year,” said Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer in a press release. “Nine MSAs – Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa – and both Composites hit new post-crisis lows.”
- Year-over-year prices were down in 15 of 20 MSAs, including Chicago, where the index fell 6.9% from 113.3 in February 2011 to 105.4 in February 2012 (year-over-year prices improved in Phoenix, Denver, Miami, Detroit and Minneapolis).
Source: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
The full press release and additional data can be found on the S&P website.
