Greater Boston home prices still inflated?
I'm still waiting, but so far the double dip has failed to bring about the deep home price reductions here in Greater Boston that some frustrated buyers are longing for.
The latest Case-Shiller numbers show a 1.9 percent decline in Boston area home prices this July from July 2010.
Frankly, it's modest decline. And it's far from the wrenching realignment that seemed in order after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit last year sent sales plunging off a cliff.
In fact, home prices arguably remain highly inflated here. Even after a year of anemic sales and faltering prices, the Case-Shiller Index for Boston is hovering above the155 mark.
That means that Greater Boston home prices today are still more than 55 percent above 2000 levels, with 100 the baseline for the index.
Only Washington, D.C, Los Angeles and New York - with Case-Shiller scores respectively of 187, 170 and 168 - have done a better job of hanging onto all those inflated, bubble year gains.
