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: < $270,312
- Mid Tier: $270,312 – $402,072
- Hi Tier: > $402,072
The breakpoints for the tiers fell again in November, declining 0.6 to 1.1%.
First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through November 2009.
The low tier fell 0.1% month-to-month, the middle tier fell 0.3%, and the high tier dropped 0.6%. The high tier hit a new post-peak low, while the low and middle tiers both sit slightly higher than where they were earlier in the year.
Here’s a chart of the year-over-year change in the index from January 2003 through November 2009.
The year-over-year situation improved slightly again in all three tiers. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of October – Low: -11.1%, Med: -9.5%, Hi: -11.2%.
Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.
Bouncing along the government-sponsored floor, but for how long…
(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 01.26.2010)