I have been somewhat critical of the widely followed Case-Shiller housing index in the past because of its tendency to overstate housing market losses based on the index's disproportionate focus on "high end" properties.
In other words, if a $2 million home drops $100,000 in value, Case-Shiller penalizes the entire market in its valuations (and as we can clearly show here in Denver, there is a wide, wide gap between the frenzy at the bottom of the market and the sluggishness at the top).
However, because people are intrigued by this index, let's cite the good news: Case-Shiller reported today that home prices rose a full one percent in Denver between April and May, the largest jump in any of the 20 metropolitan statistical areas the index tracks. Denver home prices had previously risen an additional 0.8% between March and April, according to the report.
Tomorrow, I'll show you the hidden strength inside the Case-Shiller numbers.
