Home Prices at New All-Time High: S&P/Case-Shiller

The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index rose to a record high of 184.80 in September, surpassing the previous high of 184.62 set in July 2006 at the peak of the housing boom.

In all 20 U.S. cities included in the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, September house prices increased year over year, and 17 of 20 also posted month-over-month increases. Seattle (up 11%), Portland (up 10.9%) and Denver (up 8.7%) posted the largest year-over-year gains. Miami and Tampa (up 0.5%) posted the largest month-over-month increase, while Cleveland and San Francisco posted drops of 0.4%, and Detroit posted a decline of 0.1%.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for September increased by 5.1% year over year for the 20-city composite index and by 4.3% for the 10-city composite index. The national index rose 5.5% year over year, up from a month-over-month increase of 5.3% in August.

The smallest year-over-year gains came in New York (1.8%), Washington, D.C., (2.7%) and Cleveland (3.0%).

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The index tracks prices on a three-month rolling average. September represents the three-month average of July, August and September prices.

Before seasonal adjustment, the month-over-month National Index, 10-City Composite, and 20-City Composite posted gains of 0.4%, 0.1% and 0.1%, respectively. After seasonal adjustment, the month-over-month gains were 0.8% on the National Index, 0.4% on 20-City Composite and 0.2% the 10-City index.

Average home prices for September remain comparable to their levels in the winter of 2007.

The chairman of the S&P index committee, David M. Blitzer, said:

The new peak set by the S&P Case-Shiller CoreLogic National Index will be seen as marking a shift from the housing recovery to the hoped-for start of a new advance. While seven of the 20 cities previously reached new post-recession peaks, those that experienced the biggest booms — Miami, Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas — remain well below their all-time highs. Other housing indicators are also giving positive signals: sales of existing and new homes are rising and housing starts at an annual rate of 1.3 million units are at a post-recession peak.

Compared with their peak in the summer of 2006, home prices on both 10-city and 20-city indexes remain down about 9.1% and 7.1%, respectively. Since the low of March 2012, home prices are up 40.5% and 43% on the 10-city and 20-city indexes, respectively.

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