Slow home-price rebound seen
Trend could reverse course, analysts warn
By Roger Showley
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
San Diego County and most other major metro areas continued a slow turnaround in home prices this summer, a major Wall Street index reported yesterday.
But analysts who looked at the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index cautioned that the trend could reverse course if unemployment worsens.
San Diego’s index — a measurement of repeat sales of single-family homes pegged to a January 2000 starting point of 100 points — stood at 153.34, meaning prices were about 53 percent higher than in 2000. The latest figure was 8.9 percent below August 2008′s level, making it the first time since September 2007 the year-over-year decline was below 10 percent.