S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

In thinkorswim (the desktop platform from Charles Schwab), the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index isn’t available as a standard stock/ETF ticker like SPX or ^GSPC. It’s an economic indicator (monthly housing price data), so you access it through the Economic Data tool rather than directly in the Charts tab like a tradable symbol.

Here’s how to find and chart it step by step:

  1. Open thinkorswim and go to the Analyze tab (top menu bar).
  2. In the Analyze tab, select the Economic Data sub-tab (it may appear as a button or section on the left or main area).
  3. This opens a database browser for thousands of economic time series from sources like FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), which includes Case-Shiller indices.
  4. Use the search bar/symbol selector in Economic Data:
    • Search for keywords like “Case-Shiller”, “home price”, “housing”, or “CSUSHPINSA” (the FRED code for the U.S. National Home Price Index, not seasonally adjusted).
    • Common ones include:
      • CSUSHPINSA:FRED — S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (NSA, most cited national version).
      • CSUSHPISA:FRED — Seasonally adjusted version.
      • For the 20-City Composite: Try SPCS20RSA:FRED or search “20-city” / “composite”.
    • The interface often lists categories like Real Estate/Housing under broader groups (e.g., Housing or Prices).
  5. Once you find/select the desired series (it shows a description, source, frequency—monthly), click it or enter the full symbol (e.g., CSUSHPINSA:FRED) in the selector.
  6. This loads a chart/plot of the historical index values (dating back decades, e.g., to the 1980s or 2000 base period). You can customize the chart timeframe, add studies/overlays, compare to other series (like inflation or stock indices), or export data.
  • If you know the exact FRED code in advance, you can sometimes type it directly into a regular Charts tab symbol box (e.g., CSUSHPINSA:FRED) for quick charting without going through Economic Data.
  • Release schedule: New data drops monthly (usually late in the month for the prior period’s 3-month average), with a lag—check the Economic Calendar in thinkorswim (under MarketWatch > Calendar) for “Case-Shiller” releases.

This tool is great for fundamental/long-term analysis, like overlaying housing trends with broader markets. If you’re on mobile or web versions, Economic Data access is more limited—desktop has the full feature. For specific city-level indices (e.g., New York or San Francisco), search similarly (they have separate FRED codes like NYXRSA:FRED). Let me know which variant (national, 20-city, etc.) you’re after for more precise codes!