U.S. Home Prices Annual Decline in Q1
A national home price index fell 1.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, and a separate 20-city index dropped 1.4 percent for the month of March compared to March 2006.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Index, which tracks the value of single-family housing for the nine U.S. Census divisions, dropped 0.7 percent in the first quarter compared to fourth-quarter 2006.
“The fall of the national index into negative territory, after more than 15 years of positive annual growth, is a reaffirmation of the pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market,” said Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC, in a statement. MacroMarkets owns licensing rights for the indices.
“The national index was yielding solid returns as recently as a year ago.” He noted that first-quarter-2006 growth rates were up 11.5 percent compared to first-quarter 2005, “a sharp contrast to the returns we are seeing today.”
Memorial Day is not our holiday, but it can serve as a great reminder for Canadians. This annual commemoration provides compelling context for appreciation of rights we too often take for granted. In this column, which examines “Decisions & Communities,” it’s property rights we want to spotlight.
Detroit and San Diego had the largest annual declines in March — at 8.4 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
For instance, Ontario’s Law Society of Upper Canada considers “real estate law” to involve matters “relating to real property interests including, but not limited to real estate and other related property conveyances, title and related searches, leases, easements, condominiums, cooperatives and other forms of co-ownerships, mortgages and mortgage enforcement, zoning and land use planning, real estate development and financing, real estate remedies and litigation and determination of real property rights.”
Phoenix and Las Vegas have had the sharpest drop from their peaks, according to the report. Phoenix had a growth rate of 49.3 percent in September 2005 but registered a 3 percent annual price drop in March.
The Charter does include related rights, many of which are so much part of how we live and use our real estate that it would not be Canada without them. In the words of The Charter:
And Las Vegas, which was up 53.2 percent in September 2004, plummeted to a year-over-year price decline of 1.6 percent in March.
Legal Rights: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
Seven of the 20 cities tracked on a monthly basis had year-over-year price growth in March. Seattle had a 10 percent gain, followed by Charlotte at 7.4 percent, Portland at 7 percent, Atlanta at 2 percent, Dallas at 1.6 percent, Chicago at 1.3 percent and Miami at 1 percent.
Equality Rights: Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are published at 9 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of each month. The indices are designed to track the price path of typical single-family homes, based on matched price pairs for thousands of individual houses for home sales at fair market value.
It was the second time in the history of the index that the annual national growth rate was negative — the first time was in 1990-91.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Index, which tracks the value of single-family housing for the nine U.S. Census divisions, dropped 0.7 percent in the first quarter compared to fourth-quarter 2006.
“The fall of the national index into negative territory, after more than 15 years of positive annual growth, is a reaffirmation of the pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market,” said Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC, in a statement. MacroMarkets owns licensing rights for the indices.
“The national index was yielding solid returns as recently as a year ago.” He noted that first-quarter-2006 growth rates were up 11.5 percent compared to first-quarter 2005, “a sharp contrast to the returns we are seeing today.”
Take on debt against your property by arranging a mortgage and you’ll give up some rights and take on responsibilities as part of the negotiation. For instance, borrowers promise to keep the buildings in good repair, but then some of them proceed to tear their house to pieces in a renovation that technically breeches the mortgage contract. Lender permission is required to ensure precarious situations do not arise, but how many homeowners contact the mortgage holder when they have the complexities of removing walls, building additions and replacing bathroom on their minds?
Detroit and San Diego had the largest annual declines in March — at 8.4 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
Phoenix and Las Vegas have had the sharpest drop from their peaks, according to the report. Phoenix had a growth rate of 49.3 percent in September 2005 but registered a 3 percent annual price drop in March.
And Las Vegas, which was up 53.2 percent in September 2004, plummeted to a year-over-year price decline of 1.6 percent in March.
Seven of the 20 cities tracked on a monthly basis had year-over-year price growth in March. Seattle had a 10 percent gain, followed by Charlotte at 7.4 percent, Portland at 7 percent, Atlanta at 2 percent, Dallas at 1.6 percent, Chicago at 1.3 percent and Miami at 1 percent.
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are published at 9 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of each month. The indices are designed to track the price path of typical single-family homes, based on matched price pairs for thousands of individual houses for home sales at fair market value.