Case-Schiller Home Price Index Continued Weakness in Housing

Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday releases its Case-Schiller home price index, which could indicate continued weakness in the U.S. housing industry.

The S&P/Case-Schiller quarterly index tracks price trends among existing single-family homes across the United States compared with a year earlier.

Housing trends are closely watched by U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers, which on Tuesday begin a two-day meeting, which many investors expect will conclude with another cut to the benchmark funds rate.

After five years of rapidly rising home prices, the housing market stalled last year, with prices holding steady or falling as sales slowed.

Housing industry data, as well as forecasts from homebuilders, indicate the downturn is not over. The slump — the worst in 16 years — has caused wider problems, such as slowed consumer spending. It also contributed to ongoing problems in the mortgage industry.

Recently, The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 8 percent in September, the largest decline since 1999. The median price — the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less — fell to US$211,700 in September, down 4.2 percent from a year ago.

Home prices fell 3.2 percent in the second quarter, the steepest rate of decline since Standard & Poor’s began its nationwide housing index in 1987.

S&P/Case-Schiller index, which tracks home prices, slated for release