I love statistics. I love them for their informative value, and for the way that they can support just about any story you want to tell!
Now please don’t think I mean here that you should skew stats just to prove your point. Far from it. But, it is possible to look at statistics from many different angles, some of which tell a story in such a way as to shed new light on an otherwise obfuscated topic.
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is a popular example of how statistics can help us see trends related to domestic home prices on a monthly basis. The index reports on the largest 20 U.S. markets, painting a fairly broad picture of real estate values from a national perspective.
Granted, this index only counts repeat sales on single-family homes and only focuses on 20 of the top US housing markets, but the index is helpful in terms of its ability to identify broad trends across our country’s largest cities.
In the end, though – the spreadsheet nature of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index can be a bit tough to muddle through. Luckily, the Kevin Quealy over at the New York Times posted a useful interactive chart that allows us to see the Case-Shiller data in graphic form.
As they say – a picture is worth 1,000 words. The snapshot provided in this post shows Tampa sitting at just below the 20 city average for home prices at present.
Check it out. The interactive chart allows you to compare how home values rose for each of the 20 geographic regions selected versus the national composite throughout the early part of the decade – with visibility into how values have fallen since.
As you might guess, you’ll note that though most of the 20 cities that showed stable home price growth prior to 2006, nearly all reflect dramatic price reductions in our current real estate climate.
I hope you found this post useful! As always, if you or anyone you know is in need of a local Florida mortgage broker, I’m your guy. Call me at 863-604-3019 or apply online for your Florida mortgage. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when it’s time to pull the trigger!
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I am with you a hundred percent, statistics are a lot of fun and one of the easiest ways to prove a point. Nice chart thank you for sharing!
Kevin,
Good stuff. Hopefully we’ll begin to see a little more gray in that chart in future months. Doing better than the 20 city composite would boost some buyer confidence for sure.
It is a great time to buy if you have the money to spend. Home prices will continue to drop for a while until the economy improves.