Research Firm: Double Dip has Come and Gone
According to Altos Research, there was a double dip home prices, but that problem has come and gone [1]. In the wake of SP/Case-Schiller numbers released earlier this week indicated that home prices have hit a new recession low, Altos, which uses active listing data in order to provide a “more real-time view,” says that data gathered since March (the end-point for the SP numbers) indicates that prices have steadily risen since that point in time. Corelogic also recently released a report indicating that since the SP report, home prices have risen nationally by 0.7 percent.
Critics of SP have quickly jumped to point out that it releases numbers that are often misleading because it uses data that is older than that employed by CoreLogic and companies like Altos. It does seem careless for SP indices chairman David Blitzer to announce that “home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight” when relief is clearly, based on April and May numbers, at least potentially a speck on the horizon [2].
Given how heavily the real estate market relies on investors’, buyers’ and sellers’ perception of value in order to grow, do you think that SP is being a little irresponsible or are they just reporting the news?
