Case-Shiller: Home Prices Increase By 7.7 Percent in the DC Area

• May 28th 2013

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Home prices in the DC area increased by 7.7 percent between March 2012 and March 2013, according to the latest Case-Shiller report released this morning. Nationally, prices rose 10.2 percent year-over-year, the highest growth rate since 2006.

Seasonally adjusted, home prices rose 2.3 percent between February and March in the DC area.

From the report:

The 10-City and 20-City Composites increased by 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent in the year to March with the national composite rising by 10.2 percent in the last four quarters. All 20 cities posted positive year-over-year growth.

Between January and February, home prices in the DC area increased in every price tier: low (homes under $285,369), middle (homes between $285,369 and $456,464) and high (above $456,464).

David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, on today’s numbers:

“Home prices in all 20 cities posted annual gains for the third month in a row. Twelve of the 20 saw prices rise at double-digit annual growth. The National Index and the 10- and 20-City Composites posted their highest annual returns since 2006. Other housing market data reported in recent weeks confirm these strong trends: housing starts and permits, sales of new home and existing homes continue to trend higher. At the same time, the larger than usual share of multi-family housing, a large number of homes still in some stage of foreclosure and buying-to-rent by investors suggest that the housing recovery is not complete.”

The Case-Shiller Disclaimer

When considering the Case-Shiller findings, recall that the index is based on closed sales and home price data from several months ago. (A better indicator of where area prices stand right now is the May report from RealEstate Business Intelligence.) Another thing that is important to note is that the main index only covers single-family home prices, so co-op and condo prices are not included in the analysis that is widely reported. Chicago and New York City are two of the cities where Case-Shiller provides a separate index for condo prices, but DC does not have a similar index.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly when considering the conclusions of the index, the area covered by Case-Shiller can only very loosely be described as the “DC area”. According to the site, the following cities are included: DC, Calvert MD, Charles MD, Frederick MD, Montgomery MD, Prince Georges MD, Alexandria City VA, Arlington VA, Clarke VA, Fairfax VA, Fairfax City VA, Falls Church City VA, Fauquier VA, Fredericksburg City VA, Loudoun VA, Manassas City VA, Manassas Park City VA, Prince William VA, Spotsylvania VA, Stafford VA, Warren VA, Jefferson WV.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/case-shiller_home_prices_increase_by_7.7_percent_in_the_dc_area/7120.