For what amounts to a touch of good news in what is otherwise a challenging economic environment, home prices have worked their way generally higher over the past year. For some perspective on the single-family home market, today’s chart presents the median single-family home price divided by the price of one ounce of gold. This results in the home / gold ratio or the cost of the median single-family home in ounces of gold. For example, it currently takes a relatively low 105 ounces of gold to buy the median single-family home. This is dramatically less than the 601 ounces it took back in 2001. When priced in gold, the median single-family home is down over 80% from its 2001 peak. However, the recent uptick has home prices once again testing resistance of a steep seven-year downtrend channel.

Notes:
Does the real estate plunge continue? The answer may surprise you. Find out now with the exclusive & highly regarded charts of Chart of the Day Plus.

Quote of the Day
“Nothing beats a little cash in a bear market, of course, and the oldest form of cash is gold.” – James Grant

Events of the Day
January 01, 2013 – New Year’s Day – Rose Bowl – Orange Bowl
January 02, 2013 – Sugar Bowl
January 03, 2013 – Fiesta Bowl
January 07, 2013 – BCS Championship Game

Stocks of the Day
— Find out which stocks investors are focused on with the most active stocks today.
— Which stocks are making big money? Find out with the biggest stock gainers today.
— What are the largest companies? Find out with the largest companies by market cap.
— Which stocks are the biggest dividend payers? Find out with the highest dividend paying stocks.
— You can also quickly review the performance, dividend yield and market capitalization for each of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Companies as well as for each of the S&P 500 Companies.

 Chart of the Day – Where’s the Market Headed

Where’s the Dow headed? The answer may surprise you. Find out right now with the exclusive & Barron’s recommended charts of Chart of the Day Plus.