Housing Starts Increase But Trend Still Down

Housing starts increased by 7.2% from the prior month but are still well below pre-crash levels. Levels are close to record lows. Right now we have a surplus of housing inventory but consider the fact that not a lot of houses are being built and the population is increasing. Eventually we will need more inventory.

What does that mean? It's getting to be a good time to invest in real estate. Buy low and sell high. When everyone is ready to give up on an asset class is the time to begin eying it. My only caution with housing now is the fact that the mortgage interest deduction may become a casualty of budget cutting. If this happens, then housing prices could drop another 10-20% easily. That would make the bottom of the market.

Home Prices Still Falling

I took a bit of break from Blogging, hoping that a year was enough time for the market to come back and adjust. So, the other day I took a look at the Case Schiller numbers and saw that not much has changed at all.

Here's the headline:


Home Prices Off to a Dismal Start in 2011 According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indice

Not very encouraging. Here's some info from the press release:

The 10-City Composite was down 2.0% and the 20-City Composite fell 3.1% from their January 2010 levels. San Diego and Washington D.C. were the only two markets to record positive year-over-year changes. However, San Diego was up a scant 0.1%, while Washington DC posted a healthier +3.6% annual growth rate

What were the worst performing cities? The usual suspects: Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle. Now, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas home prices are below their December 2000 levels.