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: < $288,358 (up 0.7%)
- Mid Tier: $288,358 – $454,618
- Hi Tier: > $454,618 (up 0.2%)
First up is the straight graph of the index from January 2000 through September 2013.
Here’s a zoom-in, showing just the last year:
All three tiers posted gains again in September, with the month-over-month increases equal to or less than what they were in August. Between August and September, the low tier rose 1.2%, the middle tier was up 0.3%, and the high tier gained 0.2%.
Here’s a chart of the year-over-year change in the index from January 2003 through September 2013.
Year-over-year changes were a mixed bag in September. The low tier increased vs. August, the middle tier fell, and the high tier was the same. Here’s where the tiers sit YOY as of September – Low: +20.4%, Med: +15.6%, Hi: +11.4%.
Lastly, here’s a decline-from-peak graph like the one posted yesterday, but looking only at the Seattle tiers.
Current standing is 25.8% off peak for the low tier, 17.9% off peak for the middle tier, and 13.5% off peak for the high tier.
(Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor’s, 11.26.2013)