US house prices up for fifth month

[denem]

Source: BBC

US house prices rose in October for the fifth month in a row, according to a leading index.

Prices were 0.4% higher than they were in September on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price index said.

And confidence among US consumers has shown a larger-than-expected rise.

Improved optimism over the jobs market saw consumer confidence hit a three-month high in December, according the Confidence Board. ... Consumer confidence for November was also revised up, and index measuring consumers' expectations for the economy reached a two-year high.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8433858.stm

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Note: House prices are still down 7.3% on a year ago, and some analysts are talking about a double dip.

[denem]

1. (delete)

Damn PC errr

[JuniperLea]

2. The homes in my area are down 50% from three years ago...

And are still going down. Many homes on the market... many empty... many bank-owned.

I think my neighborhood was one that people "moved up to" when the "sweet" Bush mortgage deals were being handed out like Halloween candy.

I got a rock.

Perhaps nationwide and overall prices are up a tiny bit... I'd like to see how these figures were derived.

[enlightenment]

3. What concerns me is something a realtor told someone I know -

that there is already an uptick in the number of people willing to offer considerably more than the current value of a home that is for sale in our location. Speculators do that to drive up market prices, apparently. Isn't that what happened before - people buying homes on spec and driving the prices through the roof?

[JuniperLea]

4. I've heard the same thing...

And with all the bank owned properties around, I think the atmosphere is ripe for manipulation like that.

[shireen]

5. i don't believe this

home prices rise when the economy improves. I've heard reports of improvement -- don't know how true that is either. Too much damage has been done to our economy, and I think it's overly optimistic to expect things to turn around so quickly. Be very suspicious of such claims.

[winyanstaz]

6. We are being hit by empty commercial spaces around here now....

Along with all the empty homes.
I also see a lot of "reduced" signs..even in the rental market.

[TheWatcher]

7. The Commercial Real Estate Bubble is the next shoe to drop

Even though the Goebbels Media won't tell you about it.

We may have to face the reality that the only way we can truly get a gauge of how the economy is REALLY doing is to get out and put our feet on the street and talk to people, and see for ourselves, or get online in different communities and talk to see what is going on in different parts of the country.

We have no real access to reliable information anymore via the government and media.

It's all Propaganda and Spin.

[winyanstaz]

8. yes and lets not forget the credit card bust....

People without jobs cant pay their credit cards off...so the credit card industry is jacking up the interest rates for their paying customers..regardless of their credit history...which adds to people not being able to pay their bills which adds to the homeless and the businesses folding..etc etc etc.

[Mari333]

9. pfft. Im in Michigan. Houses go for a song and a BJ here.

sorry to be so crass.