Housing market has "officially" double-dipped

[ProfessionalLeftist]

Nearly two years since the recession officially ended, home sale prices in major U.S. cities dropped to their lowest level since the bubble burst in 2006, according to fresh data released on Tuesday. The report confirms that the housing market's "double dip" is at hand, and many economists say prices will continue to decline through the rest of this year.

Home values dropped from February to March in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index, which is widely considered the leading gauge of the housing market's health. Washington D.C. was the only city in the index that showed year-over-year improvement since March 2010.

The nationwide home price index fell by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and March marks the eighth straight month of decline. Twelve cities fell to their lowest levels since the 2006 crash, with Minneapolis experiencing the steepest year-over-year decline: Area prices were 10 percent lower than March last year.

"Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight," said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. Blitzer attributed the rebound in home prices in 2009 and 2010 primarily to the first-time homebuyer credit, but said effect of that credit have long worn off. "Excluding the results of that policy, there has been no recovery or even stabilization in home prices during or after the recent recession."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/31/latest-home-sale-prices-s_n_869094.html

[former9thward]

1. Wage levels have remained stagnant for 15 years now.

Until real wages rise housing prices will continue to fall. Buyers just don't have the income to afford high mortgage payments.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

3. Low wages & high unemployment are at the crux of most of our economic issues

right now -- not that anything is being or will be done about that. They're too busy trying to control women and too busy gutting Medicare and Social Security to be bothered. Pfft.

[Ian David]

2. That means the housing market will get a yeast infection now. n/t

[ProfessionalLeftist]

4. Doesn't it already have syphilis?

;)

[ixion]

5. "there has been no recovery"

exactly.

[GSLevel9]

6. "recession officially ended"... LMFAO

After I finish cleaning soda out of my keyboard I'll ponder that a little more.

[defendandprotect]

7. "Recession" ... ? More like a Depression -- but at the least "The Great Recession" -- !!

[GeorgeGist]

8. Sorry but I no longer consider HuffPo a reliable source.

[marmar]

9. OK, how about Market Watch?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home prices fell in March for the eighth straight month, confirming the beleaguered housing market has entered a double-dip recession, according to a closely followed index released Tuesday

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities declined 0.8% in March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Case-Shiller home-price index released by Standard & Poor’s.

Prices fell in 18 of 20 cities in March on a monthly basis. Only Washington, D.C., and Seattle showed advances. Over the past year, only Washington, D.C., has seen prices advance. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-data-signals-double-dip-in-housing-2011-05-31?dist=countdown

[TheKentuckian]

10. I don't think we ever hit bottom from the first time

[jsamuel]

11. needed and need a second stimulus for the economy

the first one wasn't strong enough to get us out of this

[Igel]

12. People are making the "double dip" out to be a sign of things being worse.

The double dip is probably (IMHO) the result of attempts to make it not dip as much. The "stimulus" helped stabilize the prices; gumming up foreclosures just kept people in their houses for longer and kept a "pig" of unsold inventory in the proverbial "python" of the housing market.

I look at my little development and see 5 houses for sale, 3 on my street, the first one populated in the development. On the other hand, I know of 4 or 5 others that are empty, most of them not on my street. I'm surprised it's not more. Then again, one neighbor just moved suddenly; they've probably been behind in their mortgage payments for a year, and there may be others in the same boat.

The house I'm in was bought by the first owner for $133k 5 years ago. It was appraised a couple of years later at $146. We bought it for $100k a couple of years ago. It's now appraised at $93k--which, oddly, is pretty much the difference between what we paid and the government house-buying rebate. I suspect we're one of the few families on the street *not* underwater. $93k seems a bit underpriced, but the lot's not big so maybe it's fair. $100k seemed a bit overpriced still, but the $8k rebate made it worth it. $133k was insane; and there's no way it's worth $146k, not in 2011 dollars, and certainly not in 2006 dollars.

Some mistakes can't be patched. You just live your way through them.