Author: Tim Ellis


Tim Ellis has been analyzing the real estate market since 2005, and has been a Product Manager for Statistics and Trends at Redfin since July 2010. He combines an engineering background with a strong consumer-minded interest in real estate to provide a unique perspective on the real estate market. He has run the Seattle-area real estate website Seattle Bubble since 2005, which is the region's most popular real estate news website. He also publishes Sound Housing Quarterly, a quarterly journal of the Seattle-area housing market.



Recent posts



December 29, 2011

Case-Shiller: Seasonal Slide in Home Prices Continues

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – October data is released in December).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of October:

October 2011
Month to Month: Down 1.5%
Year to Year: Down 4.9%
Prices at this level in: September 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 39.6% in 61 months
Low Tier: Under $296,106
Mid Tier: $296,106 to $489,450
Hi Tier: Over $489,450

Nineteen of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between September and October (vs. eighteen from August to September): Only Phoenix saw an increase. Wait, Phoenix? Yup, Phoenix. Atlanta fell the most in October (again), falling a whopping 5.0% in a single month.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 10 Case Shiller: Seasonal Slide in Home Prices Continues

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-10

All three of LA’s tiers fell in October, with the high tier taking the biggest hit. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.8%, the middle tier fell 0.9%, and the high tier decreased 1.5%.

In this next chart, I’ve visualized the month to month trends of all twenty Case-Shiller-tracked cities. Green and above the horizontal axis if they were increasing in the month charted, red and below the axis if they were decreasing. I’ve excluded 2000 through 2004 since they looked largely the same as 2005 (mostly green).

Case Shiller MoM Gains Losses 2011 10 Case Shiller: Seasonal Slide in Home Prices Continues

Just four months ago, all twenty cities saw month to month gains. Now just one is not the red.

Read the rest of this entry »


December 6, 2011

Should I Wait Until Spring to List My Home? – Los Angeles Edition

Over on the national blog, we just posted another big analysis of hundreds of thousands of listings and sales. Here are the numbers for Los Angeles County, where winter is still a winning time to list your home for a quick sale, a better chance of selling, and a better price:

What season should I list my home?


November 30, 2011

Case-Shiller: Get Ready for a Long Winter for Home Prices

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – September data is released in November).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of September:

September 2011
Month to Month: Down 0.8%
Year to Year: Down 4.2%
Prices at this level in: September 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.7% in 60 months
Low Tier: Under $300,607
Mid Tier: $300,607 to $497,198
Hi Tier: Over $497,198

Seventeen of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between August and September (vs. eleven from July to August): Only Washington DC, New York, and Portland rose. Atlanta fell the most in September, falling a whopping 5.9% in a single month.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 09 Case Shiller: Get Ready for a Long Winter for Home Prices

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-09

All three of LA’s tiers fell in September, with the high tier losing the most ground. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.4%, the middle tier fell 0.4%, and the high tier decreased 1.1%.

In this next chart, I’ve visualized the month to month trends of all twenty Case-Shiller-tracked cities. Green and above the horizontal axis if they were increasing in the month charted, red and below the axis if they were decreasing. I’ve excluded 2000 through 2004 since they looked largely the same as 2005 (mostly green).

Case Shiller MoM Gains Losses 2011 09 Case Shiller: Get Ready for a Long Winter for Home Prices

Just three months ago, all twenty cities saw month to month gains. Now only three have avoided falling into the red.

Read the rest of this entry »


October 25, 2011

Case-Shiller: Summer Ends Early for Los Angeles Home Prices

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – August data is released in October).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of August:

August 2011
Month to Month: Down 0.4%
Year to Year: Down 3.5%
Prices at this level in: October 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.2% in 59 months
Low Tier: Under $302,800
Mid Tier: $302,800 to $498,018
Hi Tier: Over $498,018

Ten of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between July and August (vs. two from June to July): Phoenix and Las Vegas. Washington DC. saw the biggest increase this month, followed closely behind by Detroit and Chicago.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 08 Case Shiller: Summer Ends Early for Los Angeles Home Prices

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-08

All three of LA’s tiers fell in August. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.3%, the middle tier fell 0.3%, and the high tier decreased 0.2%.

Here’s a new chart for you. In this one, I’ve visualized the month to month trends of all twenty Case-Shiller-tracked cities. Green and above the horizontal axis if they were increasing in the month charted, red and below the axis if they were decreasing. I’ve excluded 2000 through 2004 since they looked largely the same as 2005 (mostly green).

Case Shiller MoM Gains Losses 2011 08 Case Shiller: Summer Ends Early for Los Angeles Home Prices

The effects of 2009′s homebuyer tax credit are dramatically visible in this chart, as is the fairly strong spring we had this year, hitting 20 cities increasing for the first time since July 2005. However, the sudden drop-off of month-over-month gains in August’s data is interesting, since during a “normal” year we wouldn’t expect to see this many cities in the red until December or January. I think this indicates that there is still quite a bit of weakness in home prices.

Read the rest of this entry »


September 27, 2011

Case-Shiller: Summer is Kind to Los Angeles Home Prices

Before we get going with this month’s Case-Shiller post, I’d like to apologize for the lack of an update last month. Long story short, this particular duty slipped through the cracks while I was out on leave. We heard from a number of readers who were lamenting the missing post. Rest assured, we have heard you and it will not happen again!

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – July data is released in September).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of July:

July 2011
Month to Month: Up 0.2%
Year to Year: Down 3.5%
Prices at this level in: October 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 37.9% in 58 months
Low Tier: Under $303,331
Mid Tier: $303,331 to $496,849
Hi Tier: Over $496,849

Only two of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between June and July (vs. none from May to June): Phoenix and Las Vegas. Weirdly, Detroit saw the biggest increase, followed by Minneapolis.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 07 Case Shiller: Summer is Kind to Los Angeles Home Prices

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-07

Las Vegas’ middle and high tiers rose in July, while the low tier lost a bit of ground. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.4%, the middle tier rose 0.1%, and the high tier increased 0.4%.

Read the rest of this entry »


July 29, 2011

Case-Shiller: A Bit of Spring for Los Angeles Home Prices

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – May data is released in July).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of May:

May 2011
Month to Month: Up 0.5%
Year to Year: Down 3.2%
Prices at this level in: October 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.3% in 56 months
Low Tier: Under $301,073
Mid Tier: $301,073 to $489,946
Hi Tier: Over $489,946

Only three of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between April and May (down from 7 in April and 18 in March). Boston ousted DC for the biggest increase, gaining 2.7% on the month. Only Tampa, Las Vegas, and Detroit continued to fall.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 05 Case Shiller: A Bit of Spring for Los Angeles Home Prices

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-05

The overall index rose slightly in May, but only the high tier really gained much. Month to month, the low tier was up 0.1%, the middle tier was flat, and the high tier increased 0.7%.

Read the rest of this entry »


June 29, 2011

Case-Shiller: Spring Arrives in LA as Home Prices Inch Up

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – April data is released in June).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of April:

April 2011
Month to Month: Up 0.3%
Year to Year: Down 2.1%
Prices at this level in: September 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.6% in 55 months
Low Tier: Under $300,411
Mid Tier: $300,411 to $487,182
Hi Tier: Over $487,182

Only seven of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between March and April (down from eighteen the previous month). The biggest increase was in Washington DC again with a solid 3.0% gain. Other markets that saw increases above 1% were San Francisco (+1.7%), Atlanta (+1.6%), Seattle (+1.6%), Denver (+1.5%), and Cleveland (+1.2%).

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 04 Case Shiller: Spring Arrives in LA as Home Prices Inch Up

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-04

When you break down the three separate tiers in LA, things look incredibly flat. Month to month, the low tier was up 0.1%, the middle tier was flat, and the high tier decreased 0.1%.

Read the rest of this entry »


June 1, 2011

Case-Shiller: Home Prices Nearly Flat in LA in March

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – March data is released in May).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of March:

March 2011
Month to Month: Down 0.3%
Year to Year: Down 1.7%
Prices at this level in: September 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.8% in 54 months
Low Tier: Under $300,374
Mid Tier: $300,374 to $486,730
Hi Tier: Over $486,730

Eighteen of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between February and March (one less than the previous month). Washington DC saw a 0.9% increase while Seattle eeked out a 0.1% bump.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 03 Case Shiller: Home Prices Nearly Flat in LA in March

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-03

LA’s middle tier was the only one that had much of a real change. Month to month, the low tier was flat, the middle tier fell 0.6%, and the high tier decreased 0.1%.

Read the rest of this entry »


April 26, 2011

Case-Shiller: LA-Area Home Price Losses Increase in February

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – February data is released in April).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of February:

February 2011
Month to Month: Down 1.0%
Year to Year: Down 2.1%
Prices at this level in: September 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.6% in 53 months
Low Tier: Under $302,281
Mid Tier: $302,281 to $491,853
Hi Tier: Over $491,853

Nineteen of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between January and February (the same as December to January). Detroit of all places was the only city that saw a month-to-month gain (up 1.0%).

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 02 Case Shiller: LA Area Home Price Losses Increase in February

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-02

All three of LA’s price tiers took a hit in February, but the middle tier fell the furthest. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.7%, the middle tier fell 1.4%, and the high tier decreased 0.8%.

Read the rest of this entry »


March 30, 2011

Case-Shiller: More Home Price Drops as 2011 Kicks Off

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). The Case-Shiller data is generally considered to be the most reliable measure of overall home price changes for a region, since they only consider repeat sales of homes when calculating their index, instead of looking at all the homes that sold in a given month.

For the full source data behind this post, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website. For a more detailed explanation of how the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – January data is released in March).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Los Angeles area (which Case-Shiller defines as LA and Orange Counties) as of January:

January 2011
Month to Month: Down 0.6%
Year to Year: Down 1.8%
Prices at this level in: October 2003
Peak month: September 2006
Change from Peak: Down 38.0% in 52 months
Low Tier: Under $305,699
Mid Tier: $305,699 to $500,519
Hi Tier: Over $500,519

Nineteen of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw a decrease in their HPI between December and January (the same as November to December). Washington DC’s tiny 0.1% increase was the only month-to-month gain.

Here’s a look at the latest local tiered data, back through 2000:

LA Case Shiller Tiers 2011 01 Case Shiller: More Home Price Drops as 2011 Kicks Off

And here’s a closer look at the recent changes, with the vertical and horizontal axes zoomed in to show just the last year:

LA-Case-Shiller-Tiers_2011-01

All three of LA’s tiers were down in January, with the high tier losing the most ground. Month to month, the low tier was down 0.8%, the middle tier fell 0.7%, and the high tier decreased 0.5%.

Read the rest of this entry »


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