Average Home Price Hits $191,000

The median price of U.S. residential properties sold in July — including both distressed and non-distressed sales — was $191,000, up 3 percent from the previous month, and up 12 percent from a year ago to the highest level since September 2008, a 70-month high.

Other recent research shows much more muted improvement. This is especially true with the carefully followed S&P/Case-Shiller report.

Data through June 2014, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show a sustained slowdown in price increases. The National Index gained 6.2% in the 12 months ending June 2014 while the 10-City and 20-City Composites gained 8.1%; all three indices saw their rates slow considerably from last month. Every city saw its year-over-year return worsen.

Obviously, both the methodology and time periods of the two studies are different. However, they do paint sharply different views.

READ ALSO: States With the Most Big Spenders

RealtyTrac information shows the improvements are markedly different market to market:

States with the biggest annual increase in median sales prices were Michigan (24 percent increase), Ohio (20 percent increase), Virginia (20 percent increase), Minnesota (14 percent increase), and New York (13 percent increase).

Metros with the biggest annual increase in median sales price included Detroit (up 33 percent), Dayton, Ohio (up 31 percent), Stockton, Calif., (up 24 percent), Modesto, Calif., (up 22 percent), Cleveland (up 20 percent), and Miami (up 19 percent).

Some of the increase probably can be accounted for because the markets with the greatest improvements where those most badly damaged as the real estate bubble burst. This is certainly true of Michigan, Ohio, Detroit, Cleveland and the two California cities.

Real estate in the United States is on the mend, but there are widely different opinions about by how much.