As of September 2006 there was not yet hard data on exactly what was happening in the market, but home prices were sluggish.

Judge as of 2006-09-25, for the New York housing market. The claim has two parts: (a) hard data on the current state of the market was not yet available, a statement about publication lags; and (b) home prices were sluggish, meaning flat or weakening growth. True: the price data available around September 2006 (e.g. Case-Shiller NY, OFHEO, NAR or local brokerage reports) shows flat, slowing or declining NY home prices, and the most recent official data then lagged by months. Mostly true: prices were slowing but still rising moderately, or there was some recent hard data but it was limited. Mixed: one part holds and the other does not. Mostly false: timely hard data clearly existed and showed prices only mildly softening. False: data from that period shows NY home prices still rising strongly, with no slowdown.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 FRB: Beige Book--New York--September 6, 2006 Federal Reserve Board · 6 September 2006

   “Manhattan's co-op and condo market slowed further in July and early August. The inventory of homes on the market is reported to have risen noticeably, and units are staying on the market for longer.”

2. E2 [PDF] Regional Activity - HUD User U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD User)

   “Despite evidence of slowing in the sales market, price increases for existing homes are still occurring, but the rate of appreciation has slowed, particularly in New York.”

3. E3 [PDF] Regional Activity - HUD User U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD User)

   “According to data from the New York State Association of REALTORS®, the median price of an existing single-family home in New York increased 8 percent to $262,000 for the 12-month period ending June 2006 compared with a year ago.”

4. E4 [PDF] Regional Activity - HUD User U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD User)

   “The reduced number of sales and an increase in the unsold inventory contributed to lower price appreciation and an increase in the amount of time required to sell a home.”

The Fed's September 6, 2006 Beige Book reports that Manhattan's co-op and condo market slowed further in July and early August, with inventory rising and units staying on the market longer (E1). HUD's regional summary says New York price appreciation had slowed, partly because of fewer sales and more unsold homes (E2, E4). However, prices were still rising: the statewide median single-family price was up 8 percent in the 12 months to June 2006 (E3). So prices were slowing but still rising [E2][E3], and the most recent data available ran from June to early August [E1][E3], which fits the "mostly true" criterion.