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: < $251,496 (up 2.4%)
- Mid Tier: $251,496 – $401,102
- Hi Tier: > $401,102 (up 3.0%)
First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through June 2012.
Here’s a zoom-in, showing just the last year:
All three tiers are still headed up. Between May and June, the low tier rose 1.6%, the middle tier increased 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 June 2012.
The middle tier has now joined the high tier in the black, leaving only the low tier still below where it was a year earlier. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of June – Low: -4.8%, Med: +0.4%, Hi: +2.8%.
Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.
Current standing is 41.5% off peak for the low tier, 30.6% off peak for the middle tier, and 23.5% off peak for the high tier.
(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 08.28.2012)