How are prices doing?

OK, we're back in the game here. I have a bunch of stuff coming. First things first: How are prices doing?

As you might remember from my posts, I use 2 bed, 2 bath condos (for the condo market) to determine what's happening with prices. Why? Because 2/2's are a common sales point for entrance into the market. More of them sell than anything else, and with big numbers, you get accurate trending.

Here's what we have:

It doesn't come as any shock that we have prices being down from the peaks of the market. But the thing I'm paying attention to is where are from the previous year.

You can see that every neighborhood has seen a drop (except North Center) since 2008. So yes - if you bought last year, your condo is worth less today than it was a year ago. That means you lost money. That means the market won't pay the same amount you paid for the same place. Please read this paragraph back a few times.

Where is the bottom? This is what I'm trying to figure out. Next up: prices for single-family homes. Then transaction closings and contracts for both categories. After that I have some other nerdy analysis to share that I think you'll like. Really, I mean it this time - stay tuned.