Area house prices up 2.8 percent from mid-2014, Case-Shiller report

On a month-to-month basis, rents increased in Baltimore, Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. By contrast, home values in those markets declined.

U.S. home prices rose solidly in June, another sign of health in the housing market.

S&P/Case-ShillerAnd the recent gains from the FHFA.

Strong sales are lifting prices. The consensus estimate for the year-over-year 20-city index called for growth of 5.2%. The National index posted a gain of 0.1% while the 10-City and 20-City Composites were both down 0.1% month-over-month. Sales of 5.6 million existing homes in July hit their best pace since 2007 as inventory shrank, putting upward pressure on prices. After seasonal adjustment, prices fell 0.1%.

Tuesday’s Case-Shiller report placed average house prices across 20 major cities at their winter-2005 levels, down 12.4 percent from their pre-collapse peak.

Month-over-month home price gains were modest, according to the report. The top five areas in annual appreciation: 1) Colorado – 10.6%, 2) Nevada – 10.5%, 3) Florida – 9.7%, 4) Hawaii – 9.5%, and 5) Washington – 8.8%. The Commerce Department reported last week that U.S. builders started work on single family homes in July at the fastest pace since late December 2007, the month the Great Recession began.

But Blitzer noted possible clouds looming over the housing picture: the Fed’s plan to raise its benchmark federal funds rate this year and volatility in the stock market.

Of the nine census divisions, the South Atlantic division experienced the strongest increase in the second quarter, posting a 1.7% quarterly increase and a 6.1% increase since previous year .