Home values were reported unchanged in November 2010, on average, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index.

We say “on average” because the government’s Home Price Index is a data composite for the country. The index doesn’t measure citywide changes in places like Chicago , nor does it get granular down to the neighborhood level to measure places like Bucktown.

Instead, the Home Price Index groups state data in 9 regions with each regions having as few as 4 states in it, and as many as 8.

Not surprisingly, each of the regions posted different price change figures for the period of October-to-November 2010.

A sampling includes:

• Values in the Pacific region rose +1.2%
• Values in the New England region rose +0.3%
• Values in the Mountain region fell -1.9%

The complete regional list is available at the FHFA website.

That said, none of these numbers are particularly helpful to today’s home buyers and sellers and that’s because everyday people don’t buy and sell homes on the Regional Level. We do it locally and the government’s Home Price Index can’t capture data at that level.

It’s a similar reason to why the Case-Shiller Index is irrelevant to buyers and sellers.

November’s Case-Shiller Index showed home values down 1 percent in November, but that conclusion is a composite of just 20 cities nationwide — and they’re not even the 20 largest cities. Philadelphia, Houston and San Jose are conspicuously absent from the Case-Shiller list.

So why are reports like the Home Price and the Case-Shiller Index even published at all? Because, as national indicators, they help governments make policy, businesses make decisions, and banks make guidelines. Entities like that are national and require data that describe the economy as a whole. Home buyers and sellers, by contrast, need it locally.

Since peaking in April 2007, the Home Price Index is off 14.9 percent.

S&P released its Case-Shiller Index today.

The most recent Case-Shiller Index was released Tuesday and shows home prices are down just 2.5% on an annual basis.

That is perhaps the biggest issue. The Realtor data shows 80% of Pending Home Sales close within 60 days meaning that the home price figures are always about a full sales cycle behind.

Over a year, the data can be fairly useful. The facts are that home prices are up and home supplies are down over the past 12 month.

There are three reasons to become a first time home buyer today:

1. First time home buyer tax credit
2. Home prices are low
3. Mortgage rates are low

The tax credit expires in 90 days. Home prices are moving higher. Mortgage rates are moving higher. The tax credit is almost irrelevant. The total cost of owning a home that costs just 0.5% more and has a rate of 0.5% higher far outweighs the credit.

In buying today, a first time owner gets the best of all three, low price, low rate, and a whopping $8,000 tax credit.

This week looks to be extremely volatile.

The biggest news of the week is the first Federal Open Market Committee meeting of 2010.   The Fed is not expected to change the Fed Funds Rate, but Wednesday’s press release will move mortgage rates.  If the Fed indicates that the economy is recovering how they expected it to, mortgage rates will rise.  If the Fed indicates continued weakness, mortgage rates will dip a little lower.

What the Fed says will be more important than what the Fed does.

Other data this week includes the Case-Shiller Index – a measure of home prices nationwide — and the New Home Sales report. The Case-Shiller Index has registered mild home price improvement over the past 8 months and its latest report is expected to show the same.  New Home Sales should be similarly strong.

Existing Home Sales took a nosedive today–down 16.5%, but there are some reasons behind it:

1. The initial tax credit expiration date of November 30, 2009
2. Sharply rising mortgage rates throughout the month of December
3. A general slowdown from the holidays and from the weather

This recent tick lower in rates has brought the conforming and FHA interest rates back down to about 5%.  Great news for first time home buyers.