South Florida No. 2 in the Housing Rebound

via miamiherald.com 

The latest Case-Shiller numbers show South Florida trailing Phoenix in rising home values. Having two of the country’s worst housing bubbles helps make the recovery look stronger.

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

[email protected]

South Florida enjoys the country’s second-best housing rebound this year.

That’s one result from the Economic Time Machine’s ranking of the latest figures from Case-Shiller, the top yardstick for the country’s housing crisis. Since January, South Florida’s Case-Shiller real estate index increased 5 percent. Only Phoenix had a better showing, with a 10 percent gain over five months. (The ETM used a two-month average to wash out monthly quirks in the Case-Shiller numbers.)

Change from a year ago	Change from January	Change from peak	Change from May 2002
Phoenix	10%	10%	-51%	-2%
Los Angeles	-3%	2%	-39%	30%
San Diego	-1%	2%	-39%	12%
San Francisco	0%	4%	-39%	0%
Denver	3%	3%	-8%	4%
Washington, DC	2%	4%	-27%	40%
South Florida	3%	5%	-48%	12%
Tampa	2%	4%	-45%	5%
Atlanta	-16%	-1%	-36%	-23%
Chicago	-4%	0%	-36%	-9%
Boston	0%	1%	-16%	11%
Detroit	2%	-2%	-46%	-39%
Minneapolis	4%	4%	-33%	-10%
Charlotte	1%	2%	-16%	6%
Las Vegas	-5%	3%	-61%	-20%
New York	-3%	0%	-25%	25%
Cleveland	-1%	1%	-20%	-9%
Portland, Ore	0%	2%	-27%	21%
Dallas	3%	3%	-6%	4%
Seattle	0%	3%	-29%	20%
Average metro area	-1%	2%	-33%	11%

Change from a year ago

Change from January

Change from peak

Change from May 2002

The ETM analysis also compared the May reading to peak levels for all 20 metropolitan areas that Case-Shiller tracks. The gap from the top of the market to now helps explain South Florida’s current rebound.

According to Case-Shiller, South Florida’s housing bubble continues to be one of the worst in the country. Values are off 48 percent in South Florida from peak levels set in 2006. That’s only slightly worse than Phoenix’s 51-percent drop, but considerably better than the ultimate bubble: Las Vegas, where values are down 61 percent.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/01/2925090_south-florida-no-2-in-the-housing.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy