by Calculated Risk on 5/28/2013 11:49:00 AM

Case-Shiller, CoreLogic and others report nominal house prices, and it is also useful to look at house prices in real terms (adjusted for inflation) and as a price-to-rent ratio.

As an example, if a house price was $200,000 in January 2000, the price would be close to $275,000 today adjusted for inflation.  This is why economists also look at real house prices (inflation adjusted).

Note: If were I "wishcasting" as opposed to "forecasting", I'd like to see real house prices mostly move sideways for a few years.  But given the low level of inventory, pent up demand, significant investor buying, and some bounce off the bottom in certain areas - real prices have been increasing fairly rapidly over the last year.  I expect more inventory to come on the market and for price increases to slow.

Earlier: Case-Shiller: Comp 20 House Prices increased 10.9% year-over-year in March

Nominal House Prices

The first graph shows the quarterly Case-Shiller National Index SA (through Q1 2013), and the monthly Case-Shiller Composite 20 SA and CoreLogic House Price Indexes (through March) in nominal terms as reported.

In nominal terms, the Case-Shiller National index (SA) is back to Q3 2003 levels (and also back up to Q4 2008), and the Case-Shiller Composite 20 Index (SA) is back to December 2003 levels, and the CoreLogic index (NSA) is back to February 2004.

Real House Prices

The second graph shows the same three indexes in real terms (adjusted for inflation using CPI less Shelter). Note: some people use other inflation measures to adjust for real prices.

In real terms, the National index is back to Q2 2000 levels, the Composite 20 index is back to March 2001, and the CoreLogic index back to March 2001.

In real terms, house prices are back to early '00s levels.

Price-to-Rent

In October 2004, Fed economist John Krainer and researcher Chishen Wei wrote a Fed letter on price to rent ratios: House Prices and Fundamental Value. Kainer and Wei presented a price-to-rent ratio using the OFHEO house price index and the Owners' Equivalent Rent (OER) from the BLS.

Here is a similar graph using the Case-Shiller National, Composite 20 and CoreLogic House Price Indexes.

This graph shows the price to rent ratio (January 1998 = 1.0).

On a price-to-rent basis, the Case-Shiller National index is back to Q2 2000 levels, the Composite 20 index is back to February 2001 levels, and the CoreLogic index is back to March 2001.

In real terms - and as a price-to-rent ratio - prices are mostly back to early 2000 levels.

Nominal Prices: Cities relative to Jan 2000


The last graph shows the bubble peak, the post bubble minimum, and current nominal prices relative to January 2000 prices for all the Case-Shiller cities in nominal terms.

As an example, at the peak, prices in Phoenix were 127% above the January 2000 level. Then prices in Phoenix fell slightly below the January 2000 level, and are now up 32% above January 2000. Some cities - like Denver and Dallas - are close to the peak level.  Detroit prices are still below the January 2000 level.

by Calculated Risk on 5/28/2013 10:30:00 AM

These are the last two regional manufacturing surveys for May. From the Richmond Fed: Manufacturing Activity Declined At A Slightly Slower Rate In May; Expectations Improved

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region contracted at a less pronounced rate in May after pulling back in April, according to the Richmond Fed’s latest survey. ...

In May, the seasonally adjusted composite index of manufacturing activity — our broadest measure of manufacturing — gained four points settling at −2 from April's reading of −6. Among the index's components, shipments recouped seventeen points to 8, the gauge for new orders slipped two points to finish at −10, and the jobs index subtracted six points to end at −3.

And from the Dallas Fed: Texas Manufacturing Activity Expands

Texas factory activity increased sharply in May, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, rose from -0.5 to 11.2, indicating a notable pickup in output.

Stronger manufacturing activity was reflected in other survey measures as well. The new orders index rebounded to 6.2 after falling to -4.9 in April. Similarly, the shipments index bounced back to 3.1 after dipping to -0.4. The capacity utilization index came in at 6.4, up from 2.7 last month.

Perceptions of broader business conditions continued to worsen in May. The general business activity index remained negative but moved up five points to -10.5. The company outlook index declined from -2.2 to -6.8, reaching its lowest level since July 2010.

Labor market indicators reflected weaker labor demand. The employment index fell to -6.3 in May, registering its first negative reading this year and reaching its lowest level since November 2009.
emphasis added

Here is a graph comparing the regional Fed surveys and the ISM manufacturing index:

Click on graph for larger image.

The New York and Philly Fed surveys are averaged together (dashed green, through May), and five Fed surveys are averaged (blue, through May) including New York, Philly, Richmond, Dallas and Kansas City. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI (red) is through April (right axis).

The ISM index for May will be released Monday, June 3rd, and these surveys suggest another weak reading, possibly even at or below 50 (contraction).

by Calculated Risk on 5/28/2013 09:00:00 AM

S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for March ("March" is a 3 month average of January, February and March prices).

This release includes prices for 20 individual cities, two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities) and the Q1 national index.

Note: Case-Shiller reports Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA), I use the SA data for the graphs.

From S&P: Home Prices See Strong Gains in the First Quarter of 2013 According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

Data through March 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices ... showed that all three composites posted double-digit annual increases. The 10-City and 20-City Composites increased by 10.3% and 10.9% in the year to March with the national composite rising by 10.2% in the last four quarters. All 20 cities posted positive year-over-year growth.

In the first quarter of 2013, the national composite rose by 1.2%. On a monthly basis, the 10- and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.4%. Charlotte, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Tampa were the five MSAs to record their largest month-over-month gains in over seven years.

“Home prices continued to climb,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Home prices in all 20 cities posted annual gains for the third month in a row. Twelve of the 20 saw prices rise at double-digit annual growth. The National Index and the 10- and 20-City Composites posted their highest annual returns since 2006.

“Phoenix again had the largest annual increase at 22.5% followed by San Francisco with 22.2% and Las Vegas with 20.6%. Miami and Tampa, the eastern end of the Sunbelt, were softer with annual gains of 10.7% and 11.8%. The weakest annual price gains were seen in New York (+2.6%), Cleveland (+4.8%) and Boston (+6.7%); even these numbers are quite substantial.

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the nominal seasonally adjusted Composite 10 and Composite 20 indices (the Composite 20 was started in January 2000).

The Composite 10 index is off 27.3 % from the peak, and up 1.5% in March (SA). The Composite 10 is up 10.3% from the post bubble low set in Jan 2012 (SA).

The Composite 20 index is off 26.6% from the peak, and up 1.3% (SA) in March. The Composite 20 is up 10.9% from the post-bubble low set in Jan 2012 (SA).

The second graph shows the Year over year change in both indices.

The Composite 10 SA is up 10.2% compared to March 2012.

The Composite 20 SA is up 10.9% compared to March 2012. This was the tenth consecutive month with a year-over-year gain and this was the largest year-over-year gain for the Composite 20 index since 2006.

Prices increased (SA) in 20 of the 20 Case-Shiller cities in March seasonally adjusted. Prices in Las Vegas are off 53.6% from the peak, and prices in Denver only off 0.1% from the peak.

This was above the consensus forecast for a 10.2% YoY increase. I'll have more on prices later.

by Calculated Risk on 5/28/2013 07:31:00 AM

Notes: I follow several house price indexes (Case-Shiller, CoreLogic, LPS, Zillow, FNC and more). The timing of different house prices indexes can be a little confusing. LPS uses March closings only (not a three month average like Case-Shiller or a weighted average like CoreLogic), excludes short sales and REOs, and is not seasonally adjusted.

From LPS: U.S. Home Prices Up 1.4 Percent for the Month; Up 7.6 Percent Year-Over-Year

Lender Processing Services ... today released its latest LPS Home Price Index (HPI) report, based on March 2013 residential real estate transactions. The LPS HPI combines the company’s extensive property and loan-level databases to produce a repeat sales analysis of home prices as of their transaction dates every month for each of more than 15,500 U.S. ZIP codes. The LPS HPI represents the price of non-distressed sales by taking into account price discounts for REO and short sales.

The LPS HPI is off 19.5% from the peak in June 2006. Note: The press release has data for the 20 largest states, and 40 MSAs. LPS shows prices off 49.0% from the peak in Las Vegas, 37.3% off from the peak in Riverside-San Bernardino, CA (Inland Empire), and at a new peak in Austin, Dallas and Denver!  (Also a new peak for the state of Texas).

Note: Case-Shiller for March will be released this morning.

by Calculated Risk on 5/27/2013 09:18:00 PM

From the WSJ: Lower Commodities Prices Provide Tailwind

Lower prices for commodities from cotton to copper are helping U.S. businesses by reducing their raw-material costs and buoying consumers by keeping a lid on prices paid.

Copper, used in many goods including electronics, is off nearly 10% this year. Silver, which has various industrial uses, has tumbled more than 25%, and wheat is down more than 10%.

Not mentioned in the article, lumber prices are off about 20% from the recent high and oil prices are down over 10% from the February levels.

Tuesday economic releases:
• At 9:00 AM ET, S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index for March. Although this is the March report, it is really a 3 month average of January, February and March. The consensus is for a 10.2% year-over-year increase in the Composite 20 index (NSA) for December. The Zillow forecast is for the Composite 20 to increase 9.8% year-over-year, and for prices to increase 0.9% month-to-month seasonally adjusted.

• At 10:00 AM, the Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for May. The consensus is for a a reading of minus 3 for this survey, up from minus 6 in April (Below zero is contraction).

• Also at 10:00 AM, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May. The consensus is for the index to increase to 71.5 from 68.1.

• At 10:30 AM, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey for May. This is the last of regional surveys for May. The consensus is a reading of minus 8, up from minus 15 in April (below zero is contraction).

Weekend:
• Schedule for Week of May 26th
• Public and Private Sector Payroll Jobs: Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama
• States: Mo Money Mo Problems

The Asian markets are mixed tonight with the Nikkei down 0.3%.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P futures are up 9 and Dow futures are up 87 (fair value).

Oil prices are down slightly with WTI futures at $93.84 per barrel and Brent at $102.61 per barrel.