Contact: Mike Ruzicka
414-778-4929
February 23, 2010 – While today’s report from the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (http://mam.econoday.com/byshoweventfull.asp?fid=442781&cust=mam#top) shows a seasonally adjusted increase in prices of 0.3% for December 2009, the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS® cautions homeowners against giving too much credence to the report, because it does not factor in data from Milwaukee.
The Case-Shiller Home Price Index is an intriguing tool to measure market direction, because it follows the sale of the same properties over time. However, the markets it follows does not include the Milwaukee area, and, therefore, should not necessarily be seen as a reliable source on the health of our marketplace.
Most indexes measuring the housing market are analogous to a national weather forecast. It may be interesting to see that the average temperature is 40º, but with extremes of 70º and -10º it is irrelevant to most people. Similarly, housing indexes that are not focused on a particular marketplace may indicate the average temperature of the national market, but leave the public asking, “What’s it like in my market?”
In these confusing times, buyers and sellers should remember to “Start With A REALTOR®” before consulting with a lender or other housing professional.
The Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS® is a 4,000-member strong professional organization dedicated to providing information, services and products to its members to ‘help them help their clients’ in buying and selling real estate.
