Inside these posts: Home prices

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Glimmer of hope, but home prices still falling

Another read on home price came out Thursday, and it offers a glimmer of hope about Chicago-area home prices.

The good news? In February, local home values on single-family homes were relatively flat, down only 0.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data provider CoreLogic. Get the full story »

Want a vacation home? Prices are falling

Been dreaming of a vacation home? Somewhere warm to get away? Or maybe a cabin in the woods? Prices are right if you can afford it. Get the full story »

Chicago-area home prices hit new low in January

A home for sale in Elgin, Aug. 24, 2010. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

January home prices fell for the sixth month in a row, approaching lows reached in the depths of the recession in 2009.

The Chicago area fared worse than the national average, with the local index reaching its lowest level since 2001. The index for Chicago-area single-family home prices fell 7.5 percent from the year-ago period, and dropped 1.8 percent in January from December. Get the full story »

Chicago home prices hit post-bust low

Signs advertising homes for sale in Naperville in August 2010. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)

Home prices in the Chicago area in December hit a new low since the housing market’s peak in 2006, falling 30 percent to levels not seen since March 2002, according to a widely-watched housing index released Tuesday morning.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed that Chicago was one of 11 markets in December that hit their lowest level since home prices peaked, which locally was in September 2006.

In the Chicago market, according to the index, December home prices slipped 1.4 percent from November, slightly less than the 2.2 percent drop in November. On a year-over-year basis, Chicago-area prices were down 7.4 percent. “Chicago’s been surprisingly weak,” said Karl Case, a professor emeritus of economics at Wellesley College and one of the economists who created the index. Get the full story »

Oct. decline keeps local home prices at ‘02 levels

Prices of U.S. single-family homes fell almost double the expected pace in October, the fourth straight decline, data from a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, fresh evidence the housing market continues to struggle.

In the Chicago area, home prices fell 2 percent from September, bringing the one-year decline to 6.5 percent. Local home prices in October were in line with where they were in February. On a longer-term, historical basis, prices remain near the levels they were at in the summer of 2002.

Get the full story »

U.S. home prices fall faster than expected in Sept.

Prices of single-family homes in September fell more than twice as fast as expected from the prior month, while prices compared to a year earlier rose more slowly than forecast, according a widely watched index of U.S. home prices released on Tuesday. Get the full story »

Home prices dip in July, seen hovering near lows

(Reuters)

Single-family home prices dipped in July, hovering above multi-year lows absent the homebuyer tax credit that ended in April, according a Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price report on Tuesday.

The home price index for the Chicago area rose a modest 1 percent in July after a 2.5 percent gain in June.

High U.S. unemployment and millions of foreclosed homes and distressed borrowers keep stalling a home price recovery, overshadowing high affordability and record low mortgage rates, economists agree. Get the full story »

U.S. homebuilder sentiment stays in doldrums

U.S. home-builder sentiment remained stuck at a 1-1/2-year low in September, the latest suggestion the sector is in for a painful and prolonged climb back to health.

The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said Monday that their Housing Market Index for single family homes held for the second straight month at 13 — the lowest level since March 2009. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 14.

A reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The index has not been above 50 since April 2006. Get the full story »

Chicago home prices up 2.5% in June

Home prices in the Chicago area rose for the third straight month in June, raising them up to a level equivalent with a year ago, new data released Tuesday shows.

While Chicago’s one-month price gains were greater than many of the cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, national economic trends are likely to temper future home price appreciation, economists said.

“It’s a mixed bag,” said Yale economics professor Robert Shiller, “Corporate profits are still strong, inventories are low and that’s supposed to be a positive indicator. But confidence is a major driver of the economy. What really bothers me is the very high level of long-term unemployment.” Get the full story »

Case-Shiller shows small home-price gains

Like most major metropolitan areas, Chicago-area home prices rose marginally from April to May, but a “sustained recovery” remains out of sight, according to new data released Tuesday.

The widely-watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed that in the Chicago area, home prices rose 1.2 percent in May, compared with April, but remain 1.5  percent below their levels in May 2009. Get the full story »