According to the somewhat dated March S&P/CS 20 city index, home prices rose .09% m/o/m but fell 2.57% y/o/y, both about in line with expectations. At 136.90, the seasonally adjusted index is just off the multi yr low of 136.57 in Jan. One of the hardest hit markets over the past 5 yrs, Phoenix, was the biggest gainer with a 6.1% y/o/y gain. Atlanta led the declines with a 17.74% y/o/y drop followed by the still depressed Vegas which saw a 7.5% decline. Bottom line, transaction volumes for both new and existing homes have improved somewhat over the past few months but that doesn’t mean that prices will rebound on the same timeline as the market has reached the point that low prices themselves are finally driving some better demand again. Prices will eventually follow but in fits and starts and its still very possible that they go lower still. This said, most of the damage in home price declines nationally over the past 5 yrs has likely been already seen.
