The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for August 2012 were released today and the US housing market is staying strong! The good news: home prices continue to rise in August 2012. According to the S&P press release, "average home prices increased by 0.9% for both the 10- and 20-City Composites in August versus July 2012.". This is the fifth consecutive month of gains reported by the index. The slightly bad news for our neighbors to the North (and by North, I mean Seattle, Washington): while all other cities tracked in the indices recorded positive monthly gains in August, Seattle prices declined 0.1% over the month.
In San Francisco, there was a 0.5% change in the index from July 2012 to August 2012. Keep in mind, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracks metropolitan areas. The San Francisco Metropolitan Area includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and, last but not least, San Francisco Counties.
Here is an excerpt from the press release (make sure to check out the full press release for an in-depth look at the statistics and valuable charts):
“Home prices continued climbing across the country in August,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index
Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Nineteen of the 20 cities and both Composites showed monthly gains
in August. Seventeen cities and both Composites posted positive annual returns in August 2012. In 18 cities and
both Composites annual rates improved in August versus July. Dallas’ rate remained unchanged at +3.6% and
Chicago worsened slightly from a -1.0% annual rate in July to a -1.6% annual rate in August....
“The sustained good news in home prices over the past five months makes us optimistic for continued recovery
in the housing market.“News on home prices confirms other good news about housing. Single family housing starts are 43% ahead of
last year’s pace, existing and new home sales are also up, the inventory of homes for sale continues to drop and
consumer mortgage default rates are reaching new lows. Further consumer confidence continues to rise. Even
as we end the seasonally strong home buying period, the statistics are positive. For the fifth time in a row, both
Composites had monthly gains.”
Additional coverage on the August 2012 Case -Shiller index can be found on CNN Money - it's worth a read (and it's short).
