Home prices showed a modest increase in May
Standard and Poor released its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices today showing that through May 2011, prices of homes in the U.S. showed a modest increase.
Prices for the index’s 10- and 20-City Composites were up 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively, in May over April.
Sixteen of the 20 metropolitan areas and both Composites posted positive monthly increases; Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa were down in the month of May and Phoenix was unchanged.
David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices said:
“We see some seasonal improvements with May’s data … this is a seasonal period of stronger demand for houses, so monthly price increases are to be expected and were seen in 16 of the 20 cities. The exceptions where prices fell were Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa. However, 19 of 20 cities saw prices drop over the last 12 months. The concern is that much of the monthly gains are only seasonal.”
“Other recent housing statistics show that single-family housing starts were up moderately in June, and are
at about the same pace as a year ago. Existing-home sales were flat in June, reportedly because of contract
cancellations and tight credit. The S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default indices showed a continuing
decline in mortgage default rates since last winter.
Year to year, the numbers are still a long way from their pre-recession highs and from a year ago. On an annual basis, Washington DC was the only MSA with a positive rate of change, up 1.3% from a year ago.
Nineteen of the other metropolitan areas and the overall 10- and 20- City Composites were down in May 2011 versus the same month last year.
Minneapolis fared the worst fortunes, with a double-digit decline of 11.7%.
Find the full report here.
Recent Comments