Charlotte--The Only Metro Area to Record Q1 Housing Gains

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released today show Charlotte as the sole metro area to see 1Q home-price gains: Charlotte was the only U.S. metropolitan area to record a first-quarter gain in housing prices among the 20 markets tracked by Standard & Poor's and Case-Shiller. The year-over-year price of existing single-family homes in Charlotte rose 0.8% in the latest reported quarter, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

Nationally, first-quarter prices declined 14.1 percent from a year earlier in the cities the index tracks. The Queen City is the only market with appreciation over the past year, returning +0.8%. In March, half of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and both composites fell by more than 2% over February. Dallas and Charlotte were the only two MSAs to provide positive returns for the month. Overall, the markets that grew the most during the recent real estate boom are the ones that are leading the current decline. Thankfully, Charlotte has historically been the tortoise in the race (at times being the turbo tortoise!) but, slow and steady has kept our market among the most stable during this economic downturn.

When the news came out regarding the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, I had to go and do a little research of my own! I wanted to fully understand the origination of these numbers and found a wealth of information on the Standard & Poor site. Basically, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices that measure the residential housing market, track changes in the value of the residential real estate market in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States. These indices use the repeat sales pricing technique to measure housing markets that were first developed by Karl Case and Robert Shiller. The collection data is on single-family home re-sales, capturing re-sold sale prices to form sale pairs. Twenty regional indices and two composite indices as aggregates of the regions are included in this study which is calculated and published monthly (with a 2-month lag time).

Data is collected based on sale price pertaining to individual single-family homes within each geographic market comprising an index. When a specific home is resold, the new sales price is matched to the home’s first sale price. These two price points then become a "sale pair," from which the difference is recorded and the pairs are aggregated into one index.

These pairs are a measurement of the change in the price of homes that have not significantly changed in quality--assigning weights accounting for remodeling and new additions. Extreme neglect is also taken into consideration and reflected in fluctuations. Sale pairs that show longer time intervals weigh less than those with shorter time intervals between sales in their data measurement. The data is pulled from multiple sources and rigorously re-calculated and cross-checked for accuracy before the data is calculated and published. To view statistics published by S&P and Case-Shiller, click here.

Charlotte was the only U.S. metropolitan area to record a first-quarter gain in housing prices among the 20 markets tracked by Standard & Poor's and Case-Shiller. Check the table below to see how other metro areas fared in the most recent report.

About the author: Debe Maxwell, ABR is a Charlotte Residential Real Estate Broker, Certified Neighborhood and Relocation Specialist who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in Charlotte, NC or any place in the country by connecting you with a relocation professional in your destination of choice. Debe has created a team of professionals throughout the country to ensure that you enjoy a smooth transition to your new area. These professionals are experts in the field of relocation and can serve many purposes beyond a simple home search. The destination service is of no cost to you! Please visit http://www.debemaxwell.com/ for your relocation and/or your local needs. HELEN ADAMS REALTY - 704.491.3310 - DMaxwell@HelenAdamsRealty.com

Copyright © 2008 By Debe Maxwell, All Rights Reserved. * Charlotte--The Only Metro Area to Record Q1 Housing Gains*