Housing Price Index changes by MSA

I get a little annoyed when I see articles ranking which states have the worst foreclosure problem or the biggest drop in housing prices over time.  Why would anyone want to look at this at the state level?  Maybe state governors and political talking heads?  Not really my kind of audience.  The economic drivers that determine the health of a housing market are far more localized and don’t really care about state boundaries.  I think you have to at least look at metropolitan areas to learn something about housing prices.

For example, let’s look at Illinois.