Case-Shiller: National Home Prices Show Largest Gain Since 2000

• July 31st 2012

by UrbanTurf Staff

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In continued good news for the national housing market, home prices increased by 2.2 percent between April and May 2012 in the 20-city index measured by Case-Shiller. Compared to a year ago, home prices are up in 12 of the 20 markets analyzed, and this morning’s report revealed the largest month-over-month gain for national home prices since 2000. In DC, prices rose on both a monthly (2.5%) and annual (2.8%) basis.

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

With May’s data, we saw a continuing trend of rising home prices for the spring. On a monthly basis, all 20 cities and both Composites posted positive returns and 17 of those cities saw those rates of change increase compared to what was observed for April. Seventeen of the 20 cities and both Composites also saw improved annual rates of return. We have observed two consecutive months of increasing home prices and overall improvements in monthly and annual returns; however, we need to remember that spring and early summer are seasonally strong buying months so this trend must continue throughout the summer and into the fall.

Between April and May, home prices in DC increased in the low tier (under $293,756) and high tier (above $457,827), but showed the largest gains in the middle tier (homes between $293,756 and $457,827).

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. In other words, the reported statistics are a better gauge of consumer sentiment, rather than what is going on in the market right now. (A better indicator of where area prices stand currently is the June 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 region 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_notable_home_price_gains_in_may/5842.