Home prices in the Detroit metropolitan area increased .2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December 2009, according data released Tuesday from the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a closely watched measure of housing market strength in 20 cities and the United States as a whole.
Detroit was still only one of three cities, along with Las Vegas and Tampa, that showed double-digit annual rates of decline at the end of 2009. Detroit's one-year change was -10.3%. Still, the December increase, combined with a .3% gain for the U.S. index, gives rise to hopes that the housing market is stabilizing.
"As measured by prices, the housing market is definitely in better shape than it was this time last year, as the pace of deterioration has stabilized for now," says David M. Blitzer, chairman of Standard & Poor's Index Committee.
Across the U.S., prices remained 3.1% lower than they were in December 2008. But the December 2009 result was the seventh consecutive month in which housing prices increased. While the numbers could inspire greater confidence in the economic recovery, they might also reflect a trend toward equilibrium in supply and demand. Rock bottom-prices in areas hard hit by foreclosures, such as Detroit, tend to energize sales. As buyers snap up the bargains, they help shrink the excess supply housing, which contributes to price stabilization.
No comments:
Post a Comment