San Diego Home Prices Rise 0.3% in Latest Case-Shiller Report

US home prices growth ticked lower in June, but remained at a solid annual pace of gains amid tight inventory in the housing market, according to private data released Tuesday. Sales of existing homes reached an annualized rate of 5.6 million in July, Blitzer said, which is the strongest figure since 2007.

Nationally, home prices were up 4.5 percent for the 12 months through June.

Here’s the chart from Case-Shiller showing the increase in the index over the last few years.

“Dallas-Fort Worth is by far the strongest market among Texas’ big metro areas in terms of year-over-year price increases and home sales”, said Laila Assanie, business economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The 10-City Composite had marginally lower year-over-year gains, with an increase of 4.6 percent year-over-year. Many economist believe that the report is a clear indication that consumer’s assessment of current conditions was considerably higher in August primarily due to a more favourable view of the labour market. “Detroit recorded 5.7% in June 2015, the sixth consecutive year-over-year increase”. “Although too early to tell whether it’s a sign of a slowdown, the monthly appreciation rate in June was more modest than we have seen in a while”. The 20-city index, which includes smaller cities such as Phoenix, Denver, Tampa, and Detroit, rose 5% year over year; in May, it was a 4.9% increase.

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

However, this could change, if there is “a full blown bear market dropping more than 20 percent”, he said. The Commerce Department reported last week that U.S. builders started work in July on single-family homes at the fastest pace since late December 2007, the month the Great Recession began. The uncertainty expressed last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future.

The FHFA’s index is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite the recent gains, home values in the region, which includes North Jersey, are still no higher than they were 11 years ago, in September 2004.