 Home Prices Fell Again, but may be Near Bottom.
March 29, 2012
Home prices fell again, but may be near a bottom.
"Home prices fell to new lows in January, but the rate of decline appeared to be easing, offering the latest hint that prices may be at or near a bottom. Prices dropped 0.8% in the three-month period that ended in January, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index that tracks 20 U.S. metro areas. While that lowered the index to levels not seen since the end of 2002, the monthly decline improved from a drop of 1.1% in December and 1.3% in November. House prices tend to weaken during the winter months, when sales activity slows and the share of 'distressed' home sales, such as foreclosures, rises. After adjusting for seasonal factors, prices were flat in January compared with December...Tuesday's report 'adds to other evidence that the housing market is on the mend,' said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics. 'We expect that 2012 will go down in history as the year that the most severe house-price crash on record ended.'" Nick Timiraos in The Wall Street Journal 3.28.2012
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