Case Shiller: DC Area Home Prices Rise 3.6%

• March 29th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Continuing the trend of outpacing the rest of the country, the DC area posted a 3.6 percent year-over-year increase in home prices between January 2010 and January 2011, according to the latest Case-Shiller report released this morning. Nationally, home prices in the 20-city index decreased 3.1 percent during that period. Economists predicted that prices would fall 3.3 percent in January, after a 2.4 percent drop in December.

The DC area market was one of only two metropolitan markets (the other being San Diego) that showed a year-over-year increase.

From the report:

Only San Diego and Washington D.C. posted positive annual growth rates in January 2011. These are the only two cities whose annual rates remained positive throughout 2010.

Prices increased ever so slightly (0.1 percent) in the DC area between December 2010 and January 2011. That increase is small, but it represented an increase in each home price tier measured by Case Shiller: lower (under $293,756), middle (between $293,756 and $457,827) and high (above $457,827).

Washington DC appears to be the only market that has weathered the recent storm. While it was up only 0.1% for the month of January, it’s annual rate was a relatively healthy +3.6%, it is still +10.7% above its March 2009 low, and ranks number one among the 20 markets as its average value is almost 85% above its January 2000 level.

Positive news for the DC area notwithstanding, this morning’s report offered a bleak assessment of the overall national market, noting that evidence of a double-dip housing recession is mounting:

The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery. At most, we have seen all statistics bounce along their troughs; at worst, the feared double-dip recession may be materializing.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/case_shiller_dc_home_prices_rise_3_6/3238.