I’ve taken to following all of the various home price indices less and less. Generally, they tend to be too macro and tell little about the dynamics of the various markets they purport to analyze. Naturally they’re backward looking, hence of marginal value in trying to figure out what’s going to happen. And I suspect that they are just plain wrong. Bulk REO sales aren’t reported, it can take months for individual bank owned house sales to show up on MLS and any write-downs of principal via loan modifications aren’t reflected in the numbers. In short, they’re becoming of little value. Nevertheless, for those of you who do like to follow this train wreck, here are the latest Case-Shiller numbers.
Home Prices, by Metro Area
| Metro Area | September 2008 | Change from August | Year-over-year change |
| Atlanta | 122.72 | -1.3% | -9.5% |
| Boston | 160.98 | -1.1% | -5.7% |
| Charlotte | 130.40 | -1.3% | -3.5% |
| Chicago | 147.84 | -1.1% | -10.1% |
| Cleveland | 109.87 | -0.6% | -6.4% |
| Dallas | 121.96 | -0.8% | -2.7% |
| Denver | 130.96 | -1.3% | -5.4% |
| Detroit | 90.17 | -2.5% | -18.6% |
| Las Vegas | 146.58 | -2.6% | -31.3% |
| Los Angeles | 184.54 | -2.5% | -27.6% |
| Miami | 178.72 | -2.6% | -28.4% |
| Minneapolis | 140.51 | -1.0% | -14.4% |
| New York | 191.32 | -1.0% | -7.3% |
| Phoenix | 139.79 | -3.5% | -31.9% |
| Portland | 169.67 | -1.3% | -8.6% |
| San Diego | 164.12 | -2.4% | -26.3% |
| San Francisco | 145.53 | -3.9% | -29.5% |
| Seattle | 172.84 | -1.4% | -9.8% |
| Tampa | 171.24 | -1.8% | -18.5% |
| Washington | 189.90 | -2.2% | -17.2% |
Source: Standard & Poor’s and FiservData
Posted in 
