ANOTHER DIP
December 1, 2010: THERE was further gloomy news for America’s homeowners as national house prices dipped in the three months to September. The S&P/Case-Shiller index, released on November 30th, fell by 1.5% from the same period in 2009 and by 2% from the previous quarter. The end of the government’s tax incentives and ongoing foreclosures are contributing factors. The index is now back at 2003 levels. Prices in the ten big cities are 2.6% higher on a quarterly basis than a year ago, but the same downwards trend is evident there too. Indeed the broader 20-city gauge, which began in 2000 and is not shown here, rose by only 1.8% on a year earlier.
Crap.