Bet On The Housing Bubble

Do you think the housing bubble will burst? Will it continue to grow? Thanks to a new index fund, you can now put your money where your mouth is.

1 minute read

March 24, 2006, 1:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Standard & Poor's, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos., is rolling out 10 indexes that will track housing prices in various regions of the U.S., as well as a composite index. The indexes, which plan to launch in April, will serve as the basis for futures and options contracts that will trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Dubbed the S&P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices, the 10 cities comprise Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C."

From the press release:

" 'For the vast majority of Americans, their home is their largest and most valuable asset, and in a period of rising housing prices and increased concerns about a possible housing bubble, reliable information on their biggest asset is extremely important,' says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. 'Standard & Poor's is excited to be working with both MacroMarkets and Fiserv on this initiative.' "

Friday, March 24, 2006 in The Wall Street Journal

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