Here come home prices

U.S. home rents jumped in July as house prices showed signs of flagging. That rate has gradually slowed in recent months, which analysts say could signal a correction in a housing market that has seen nearly two years of double-digit increases. The biggest year-over-year increases in prices occurred in Denver (10.2%), San Francisco (9.5%) and Dallas (8.2%).

“These data point to a stronger housing sector to support the economy”, said Blitzer. The National Association of Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes rose 2 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.59 million, the fastest pace since February 2007. Cleveland-area prices posted a 2.8 percent annual gain, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

In June, the Case-Shiller reading on home prices showed home prices fell 0.1% against expectations for an increase of around 0.1%.

Before seasonal adjustment, the National index and 20-City Composite both reported gains of 1.0% month-over-month in June. House prices rose 5.4% from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015.

Blitzer added: “The missing piece in the housing picture has been housing starts and sales“.

A separate Tuesday report, from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, put nationwide price growth at 0.2 percent from May to June.

Yet he also noted that builders have begun work on more homes, a trend that could help stabilize prices.

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.