The latest figures from the Case-Shiller Home Price Index were released today, indicating that in May home prices declined 0.2% in New York and 0.3% nationally (seasonally adjusted figures). Prices are still up 4.8% in New York and 9.3% nationally since one year ago.
This is the second consecutive month of price drops in New York after seventeen consecutive months of increases, although revised figures show the drop in April was lower than was initially reported. This decline also appears to be part of a wider trend: thirteen other cities saw lower prices in May than in April and the 20-city composite index went down by 0.3%, its first decline in since January 2012.
Over the next few months we will observe whether home prices continue to increase in metropolitan areas where they have been rising quickly, or whether this month’s decline signals that prices have finally plateaued. New York has seen more modest price increases than other parts of the country so it is possible that a decline here will be less abrupt than in other markets.
