Home Price Declines Continue to Abate

 

The chart above depicts the annual returns of the 10-City and 20-City Composite Home Price Indices. The 10-City and 20-City Composites declined 16.8% and 17.1%, respectively, in May compared to the same month last year. These values are improvements over April?EUR??,,????'???s data, which show annual declines of 18.0% and 18.1%, respectively. ?EUR??,,????'??? Courtesy of Standard & Poor?EUR??,,????'???s

Data through May 2009, released today by Standard & Poor?EUR??,,????'???s/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved for the fourth consecutive month in 2009.

In addition to the 10-City and 20-City Composites, 17 of the 20 metro areas also saw improvement in their annual returns compared to those of April. Looking at the monthly data, 13 of the 20 metro areas reported positive returns; and the 10-City and 20-City Composites reported positive returns for the first time since the summer of 2006. To put it in perspective, these are the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months. This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilizing. – Courtesy of Standard & Poor?EUR??,,????'???s