Home Prices Fail To Improve: Case-Shiller

Home prices failed to improve in August, showing disappointing results in last week's FHFA data and likewise in today's Case-Shiller report for August. The adjusted 20-city index fell 0.2 percent while year-on-year growth was unchanged, at a seven-year low of 2.0 percent and well under Econoday's consensus for 2.5 percent.

These two reports offer definitive data but they do lag, and other indications on home prices have recently been picking up. Nevertheless, August's Case-Shiller and FHFA results are a reminder that sales of existing homes, though improving from last year, have been struggling to move higher, improvement of course that should be getting a boost from the subdued rate of price growth not to mention favorable mortgage rates.