The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices released the latest numbers February 23 amid a choppy economic environment. When the markets opened Thursday, February 24, gloom was abundant due to a slew of economic data being released that didn't make anyone feel better. Higher than expected jobless claim numbers and lukewarm durable goods seem to indicate that businesses are not increasing spending and are continuing in contraction. This is the backdrop against which the latest Case Shiller numbers were released. The decline continues to improve in terms of rate; a national rate of -2.5% December over December. This is a vast improvement over double digit loss seen the last couple of years for comparative numbers. The Case Shiller numbers lag about a month so these numbers are ending December 31. Miami, Phoenix and Seattle have left the double digit decline arena and posted losses in the single digits leaving only Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa in the double digit loss zone. Denver showed a 1.2% gain; the highest gain of 4.8% was seen in San Francisco. According to Robert Shiller, the Yale University economist, the market fell 11% in the first half of the year only to gain 5% during the second half of the year. The data continues to indicate bottom has been hit and we will continue to bounce along for a while.
