Let’s check out the three price tiers for the Seattle area, as measured by Case-Shiller. Remember, Case-Shiller’s “Seattle” data is based on single-family home repeat sales in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
Note that the tiers are determined by sale volume. In other words, 1/3 of all sales fall into each tier. For more details on the tier methodologies, hit the full methodology pdf. Here are the current tier breakpoints:
- Low Tier: < $271,660 (down 2.7%)
- Mid Tier: $271,660 – $435,955
- Hi Tier: > $435,955 (down 0.8%)
First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through March 2014.
Here’s a zoom-in, showing just the last year:
After turning in the weakest performance in February, the low tier shot up to the top in March Between February and March, the low tier increased 2.3%, the middle tier rose 2.1%, and the high tier gained 1.8%.
Here’s a chart of the year-over-year change in the index from January 2003 through March 2014.
Year-over-year changes slipped further for the middle and high tiers, but increased for the low tier. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of March – Low: +18.1%, Med: +12.7%, Hi: +10.4%.
Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.
Current standing is 25.2% off peak for the low tier, 17.3% off peak for the middle tier, and 12.3% off peak for the high tier.
(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 05.27.2014)