The July S&P/CS 20 city home price index fell .13% m/o/m but was up 3.18% y/o/y, both about in line with expectations. The index at 148.91 is at the highest since Dec ’08, 7% off its April ’09 low but still remains 28% off its July ’06 record high. Of the 20 cities, half saw y/o/y gains led by San Francisco while Las Vegas led the declines for the other half. Washington, DC is the healthiest market in the country (I wonder why) as measured by its premium to the overall index and Detroit is the weakest. The July measure of home prices reflect the post tax credit environment where demand fell sharply. We thus should await for a more ‘normal’ dynamic between supply and demand to properly gauge pricing. With this said though, the foreclosure process still seems all mucked up which will also distort the price discovery process.
