S&P: Home Price Gains Maintain Fast Clip

S&P Dow Jones Indices, New York, said home prices continued their rise across the country over the past 12 months.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.3% annual gain in August, up from 5.0% a year ago. The 10-City Composite posted a 4.3% annual increase, up from 4.1% a year ago; the 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.1%, up from 5.0% a year ago.

Portland, Seattle and Denver reported highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities over each of the past seven months. In August, Portland led the way with an 11.7% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle at 11.4% and Denver with an 8.8% increase. Ten cities reported greater price increases in the year ending August from a year ago.

Month over month, before seasonal adjustment, the National Index gained 0.5% in August. Both the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite posted an 0.4% increase. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded an 0.6% month-over-month increase, while both the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite reported 0.2% increases. Fourteen of 20 cities saw prices rise, two cities were unchanged and four cities experienced negative monthly prices changes.

Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C., said home prices continue to be supported by low inventories of for-sale homes and moderate economic growth. “The drivers of home price appreciation have shifted over the past year, as some cooling is evident in the year-over-year trend in major markets, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, while home price growth in other pockets around the U.S., such as Denver and Portland, are trending near post-recession highs,” he said.

The report said as of August, average home prices for the metros within the 10-City and 20-City Composites are back to their winter 2007 levels.