An old, pre expiration of the home buying tax credit pricing survey, the March S&P/CaseShiller index, rose 2.35% y/o/y, slightly below the expected gain of 2.5%. On a m/o/m basis though, the index is down for a 6th straight month on a non seasonally adjusted basis but should rebound in the data over the next few months as we enter a seasonally busier time for the industry. Adjusting for seasonals, the price index is down for a 2nd month after rising for 8 months in a row. On a y/o/y basis, 10 of the 20 cities surveyed saw a gain, led by San Francisco and San Diego. The decline was led by Las Vegas and Detroit. As I said yesterday on Existing Home Sales, “the data is old news because now the market is subject to good ole fashioned supply and demand where still subdued prices and lower mortgage rates will face off against a still tough labor market, no tax credit and still big supply.”
