US Property Price Rises Slow in September
Latest US data shows the rate of property price rises slowed in September despite the extension of the first time buyer tax credit to the new year.
US Property Prices Sept 09 - Case-Shiller
The slowing growth rate was accompanied by a down grade in US GDP figures as the broader US economy was incorporated into the earlier growth estimates which are largely based on international businesses.
David Blitzer of S&P commented that “the gains in the most recent
month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months. Fewer cities saw month to month improvements in September than in August in both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted figures.”
However, these figures mask wide variations with “Las Vegas remaining the most depressed market. Prices have declined for 37 consecutive months, with a
peak-to-trough reading of -55.4%.
“Detroit has seen some positive movement in recent months, [yet] the market is still at only 73% of its 2000 value. This compares to regions such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington, which have maintained values of 70-80% above their 2000 averages, in spite of the market downturn.”
The gap between the successful and unsuccessful locations and regions appears to widening although it is worth noting that Government car giant bail outs has almost certainly prevented Detroit from a property price freefall. However, there is no respite for Las Vegas speculators and the market shows clear signs of a flight to quality.