Land O Lakes Real Estate News - JLS Investment Realty

Case-Shiller: Home prices up again in July
September 25th, 2012 5:18 PM
Case-Shiller: Home prices up again in July

NEW YORK – Sept. 25, 2012 – The July 2012 Home Price Index released today by S&P/Case-Shiller finds solid price increases in 16 of the 20 cities studied.

“Case-Shiller looks at the same homes over time and compares historical sales prices,” says Florida Realtors Chief Economist John Tuccillo. “As a result, it’s highly accurate – an apples-to-apples price comparison. As a tradeoff for accuracy, however, it’s important to note that it’s a lagging measurement. The data released this morning are already about two months old. Still, the price increase and month-over-month upbeat data suggest that the housing market recovery seems to have legs.”

Case-Shiller’s July report found a 1.5 percent price increase in its 10-City Composite, and a 1.6 percent increase in its 20-City Composite. For the third consecutive month, all 20 cities and both composites recorded positive monthly changes. It would have been a fourth month had April prices not fallen by 0.6 percent in Detroit.

Tuccillo offers another note of caution: “The Case-Shiller Index provides an accurate reading for home prices using a cross-section of U.S. cities,” he says. “However, only two Florida cities are included in its data – Miami and Tampa. As a result, the data can’t be extended to cover statewide home price changes. As every Realtor knows, each market is unique.”

In Miami, the data show that home prices rose 2.1 percent from June to July. The June report found a one-month increase of 1.6 percent. Year-to-year, Miami prices rose 5.3 percent.

In Tampa, home prices rose 0.9 percent from June to July compared to 2.0 percent in its June report. Year-to-year, Tampa prices rose 3.6 percent.

“The news on home prices in this report confirm recent good news about housing,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Single family housing starts are well ahead of last year’s pace, existing home sales are up, the inventory of homes for sale is down and foreclosure activity is slowing. All in all, we are more optimistic.”

Federal Housing Finance Agency


A second home price index released this morning also shows positive data, though the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Index looks only at mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – roughly half of all outstanding mortgages.

FHFA’s July House Price Index found that home prices rose 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from June to July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in July, U.S. prices rose 3.7 percent. The index is 16.4 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as June 2004.

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=281570


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Posted by Jennifer Stepanek on September 25th, 2012 5:18 PMPost a Comment

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