Prices of U.S. single-family homes fell almost double the expected pace in October, the fourth straight decline, data from a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, fresh evidence the housing market continues to struggle.
In the Chicago area, home prices fell 2 percent from September, bringing the one-year decline to 6.5 percent. Local home prices in October were in line with where they were in February. On a longer-term, historical basis, prices remain near the levels they were at in the summer of 2002.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 1.0 percent in October from September on a seasonally adjusted basis, faster than the 0.6 percent drop expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The drop followed a seasonally adjusted decline of 1.0 percent in September.
S&P, which publishes the indexes, also said home prices in the 20 cities index fell 0.8 percent from October 2009.
Unadjusted for seasonal impact, the 20-city index fell 1.3 percent in October after a 0.8 percent decline in September.
Tribune reporter Mary Ellen Podmolik contributed to this story.
By whose expectaions?
All you have to do is open your eyes and see all the vacant foreclosed homes around to know the price decline isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
what a surprise! housing prices drop again. At least the trib does no have to get new headlines.
It will be the same headline in January for November…and in February for December…
The best way to look at this is as follows.
Take your purchase price and compound it by 2% for every year after you purchased it.
Can you sell your house today for that total?
If so, you have nothing to worry about. If you can sell it for more, bully for you.
But if you EXPECT that you should be able to sell it for 3 or 4 or 5% per year over what you bought it, you’re either a Realtor or playing the Realtor game.
If you can’t sell you’re house/condo for what you paid for it, then you likely fell prey to the Realtor game and bought something from someone at a higher rate of appreciation than is normal (2%).
For that, blame your Realtor. And blame your mortgagee. And look in the mirror and blame yourself.