Case-Shiller housing data: April 2011

Market	MoM Change	YoY Change	Peaked In...	Change from Peak	Prices Last at This Level in...	# of Months of Decrease
Phoenix	0.1%	-8.8%	Jun-06	-55.9%	Jan-00	0
LA	0.3%	-2.1%	Sep-06	-38.6%	Sep-03	0
San Diego	0.4%	-4.3%	Nov-05	-38.3%	Dec-02	0
Bay Area	1.7%	-5.5%	May-06	-39.5%	Jan-01	0
Denver	1.5%	-4.1%	Aug-06	-12.8%	Aug-01	0
DC Area	3.0%	4.0%	May-06	-25.6%	May-04	0
Atlanta	1.6%	-3.5%	Jul-07	-25.3%	Mar-00	0
Chicago	-0.4%	-8.6%	Sep-06	-34.7%	Mar-01	8
Boston	-0.2%	-4.2%	Sep-05	-19.4%	Sep-02	9
Las Vegas	-0.7%	-6.2%	Aug-06	-58.9%	Mar-99	7
New York	0.8%	-2.8%	Jun-06	-23.9%	Jan-04	0
Portland	0.1%	-9.2%	Jul-07	-28.8%	Sep-04	0
Dallas	0.5%	-4.0%	Jun-07	-10.4%	Apr-02	0
Seattle	1.6%	-6.9%	Jul-07	-29.7%	Aug-04	0
20 City Index	0.7%	-4.0%	Jul-06	-32.8%	Apr-03	0

Tight Credit Continues to Shut Buyers Out

For example, Amy Menell told The Wall Street Journal how a bank denied her for a home loan, despite her credit score being above 800, no debt, and having a down payment of more than 50 percent of the cost of the $400,000 home. However, Menell, who was in the process of finalizing a divorce, works as a real estate agent and didn’t have much income in 2009. While her business has picked up since then, she did not have the two years of documented income the banks wanted to process her loan application.

Other qualified buyers coming with good credit scores and credit histories are also finding themselves unable to get a home loan. Those who are having the toughest time are those who have seen their incomes drop or interrupted by a time of unemployment and self-employed applicants. Lenders don’t appear to have plans to ease credit soon either. Nearly four in 10 banks reported even tighter mortgage lending standards for the 12-month period ended in February, according to a survey by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Terramar 2011

Funny: the Great Wallet of China