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: < $273,610 (up 3.0%)
- Mid Tier: $273,610 – $438,352
- Hi Tier: > $438,352 (up 2.9%)
First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through May 2013.
Here’s a zoom-in, showing just the last year:
All three tiers posted considerably gains in May, with the low tier again gaining the most ground in the month. Between April and May, the low tier rose 3.4%, the middle tier was up 2.7%, and the high tier gained 3.0%.
Here’s a chart of the year-over-year change in the index from January 2003 through May 2013.
The low tier was also the biggest gainer in year-over-year growth from a year ago. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of May – Low: +16.7%, Med: +14.9%, Hi: +11.0%.
Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.
Current standing is 32.8% off peak for the low tier, 21.8% off peak for the middle tier, and 16.6% off peak for the high tier.
(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 07.30.2013)