Home prices dip 4.5%
By Les Christie July 26, 2011: 10:04 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — May home prices in 20 major cities dipped 4.5% from one year ago, marking a continued decline in the already battered housing market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller report posted declines in both its 20-city composite and its 10-city index, which declined 3.6% year-over-year.
But housing did show some signs of life in May. Home prices ticked higher for the second consecutive month following an eight-month slide.
In May the 20-city index gained 1% compared with a month earlier, while the 10-city index rose 1.1% month-over-month.
David Blitzer, a spokesman for S&P, was cautious in detailing the index gains.
“While the monthly data were encouraging, most [metro areas] and both composites fared poorly in annual terms,” he said.
Prices are also still off more than 32% from their highs, set in July, 2006 and hover at about the same level they were in mid-2003.
Blitzer attributed much of the home price increase for May to seasonal effects. Spring is the hottest time of year for home buying and the added demand usually drives prices higher.
Taking those seasonal factors into account, the 20-city index was flat and the 10-city showed a gain of just 0.1%.
Sixteen metro areas recorded non-seasonally adjusted month-over-month gains in May. The biggest winner was Boston, where prices jumped 2.7%, followed by Minneapolis (2.6%) and Washington (2.4%). The nation’s capital was the only place to record a gain over the past 12 months, up 1.3%.
Three cities declined month-over-month, led by Detroit (-2.8%), Las Vegas (-.9%) and Tampa (-.6). The biggest loser over the past 12 months was Minneapolis, where prices fell 11.7%. To top of page
No comments yet.