officially moved into positive territory with a 0.5% increase in home price compared to one year ago.  The 20 city composite reports a decline in home price of 5.3%. Dallas led the way in the report with a 1.4% increase.  Only four cities saw an increase including Denver, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.  The big loser remains Las Vegas posting a 24.5% loss year over year.  Even Seattle posted a 10.6% decrease; this in spite previous signs of improvement. 

The Case-Shiller index has seen 20 consecutive months of double digit decline and 3 months of single digit decline.  An overview of 2009 Case-Shiller numbers was released this month and is an interesting read.  It appears that January 2009 was the lowest point in the overall market posting record national declines of 19%; this was the average number of all cities.  Housing starts in 2009 are consistent with record low numbers seen in recession of 1980's.  It is not likely that the construction end of the market will see improvement in the near future.  The existing home market, locally and nationally, remains saturated forcing home prices to remain low.  Consequently, new construction has become almost a lifestyle choice since a new home will typically cost more.  Some builders are finding themselves very busy right now in spite of the trend.  These builders entered the current recession with a strong reputation for value and quality. 

The Case-Shiller index is released monthly tracking the pricing path of home prices on a national and city basis.  This report is generated by Standard and Poor's, a part of the McGraw-Hill family.