Housing prices are rebounding (2)

Given the lags involved in the calculation of the Case Shiller Home Price Index, it looks like U.S. housing prices on average hit bottom some time in the first quarter of this year, after falling 36% in real terms from their all-time high. This index of course masks a considerable degree of variability among major markets, but nevertheless it is impressive that it increased five months in a row despite a nasty recession. (The latest datapoint, for September, reflects the average prices in the May-July period, and the recession probably ended in late June or early July.)