Standard & Poor’s said today that a home price index comprised of 20 metropolitan areas showed prices fell to their lowest levels since 2003 in December. The Case-Shiller Index’s continuing weakness was disappointing, aprticulalry after the market appeared to have stabilized last year.
“In terms of prices, the housing market ended 2011 on a very disappointing note,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices in a statement. “With this monthÂs report we saw all three composite hit new record lows. While we thought we saw some signs of stabilization in the middle of 2011, it appears that neither the economy nor consumer confidence was strong enough to move the market in a positive direction as the year ended.”
many observers, including Warren Buffet himself, had surmised that 2011 would see improvement in the housing market, which is considered necessary for a full economic recovery. But the recent data (admittedly lagging) paints a different picture.
The data is weighing on stocks today, particularly after durable goods data also gave investors little to cheer about.
Shares of homebuilders were broadly lower, although Hovnanian (HOV) rose after reporting some strong contract data. The major indexes were see-sawing around zero.
