In back-to-back Inman News columns, Bernice Ross wades into the controversy over the reporting of home-price statistics. In Part 1, “Put a gag on Chicken Little,” Ross argues that home prices are stabilizing, but that the media’s emphasis on home-price indexes published by Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller has created “a crisis in consumer confidence.” In Part 2, “Where’s the beef in home-price reports? “she details the bones she has to pick with the Case-Shiller index.
Ross raises some legitimate points — there is no doubt that some consumers don’t understand that those headlines screaming about national home-price declines don’t necessarily reflect what’s happening in their market. But in placing the blame at the feet of Case-Shiller and the media, Ross fails to get to the bottom of the question she claims to address: Why do Case-Shiller’s numbers differ from those produced by NAR and the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, OFHEO?
Source: Inman News
