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The Case-Shiller Index is Useless

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Case-Shiller Index
Real Estate around Seattle

Why the Case-Shiller index is useless for home buyers and sellers.

No real estate data gets as much play as the S/P Case-Shiller index. Every news show and Website tells you how the US real estate market is doing. The media distribution of the Case-Shiller index is at least equal a Fed announcement on QE. The problem with the Case-Shiller index is that it is old news, fit perhaps for the History Channel.

Today’s Old News

Case Shiller Index - Seattle Area August Home Prices

October 29th, 2014 – The Seattle Times

Unfortunately, the low information news consumer’s memory is short. We retain not much more than today’s news. If today’s news is that Seattle area home prices are flat then that must be so. That’s what the Seattle Times reported today, October 28th, 2014. The headline and intro paragraph read:

Seattle area home-price gains stall in August
The average price of existing single-family homes sold in the Seattle area in August remained the same as in July, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index. Over the past 12 months, the average home price increased 6.6 percent.

August? Today is October 29th.

Back to the Future

Case Shiller Index - Seattle Area September Home Prices

October 6th, 2014 – The Seattle Times

On Ocober 6, 2014 – that’s 22 days ago – the Seattle Times reported this:

King County home prices resume their climb
The median price of single-family homes sold in King County in September rose almost 10 percent over 12 months to $460,000, reversing a surprise slide the previous month, according to figures released Monday.

The source of the good news about September was a press release by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). It covers the same area that Case-Shiller does and a bit more.

So the “news” of today is very old news as it concerns prospective home buyers and sellers. By now even the news from October 6th is getting old.

What’s news is what has happened so far this month of October. What’s useful news is what is happening in your neighborhood today. What’s meaningful news is why the home down the road is not selling why a similar house on the next street sold in five days.

If you want that kind of meaningful and useful news, contact me today – 425-891-8213.