The Case-Shiller November index showed more negativity overall, to the delight of the mainstream media.  Calls for the double dip will escalate, and soon the government will think they need to intervene.  Hopefully they’ll keep their hands in their pockets, and not ours. 

From the C-S press release:

“With these numbers more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices. Let’s take a moment to define a double-dip as seeing the 10- and 20-City Composites set new post-peak lows. The series are now only 4.8% and 3.3% above their April 2009 lows, suggesting that a double-dip could be confirmed before Spring. Certainly eight cities setting new lows, and with the only positive news concentrated in southern California and Washington DC, the data point to weakness in home prices,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “With an annual growth rate of +3.5% in November, Washington DC was the strongest market, but still well below the +7.7% annual rate of growth seen in May 2010. The only city with a gain in November was San Diego, up a scant 0.1%. While San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco are still ahead from November 2009, their annual rates are shrinking in recent months.

Here is the San Diego Case-Shiller Index history:

 

The idea of lower pricing will cause more people to consider looking to buy a home, but what will they think when they see over-priced turkeys (OPTs) everywhere they go?  What will home-lookers do when they realize the disconnect between media reports, and the reality on the street?  Commit to spending inordinate amounts of time and energy searching for the needle in the haystack, or give up?

When they can buying anything else they need within minutes, it’s hard to imagine them devoting the time to dig for the deals.  But will they just pay the price?

 

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