United States home prices rise in June at slowest pace in 10 months

“The strong home price growth in much of the country, and meteoric rise in the West, is led by a continued lack of homes available for sale”.

The pace of USA home price gains slowed in June from the previous month, but strong appreciation in the West and South kept growth above the two-year average, according to a monthly report.

The D.C. region’s housing market is one of the most expensive in the nation, but price appreciation in the Washington metro area remains the smallest among the nation’s biggest cities. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.2 percent month-over-month increase, and both the 10-City Composite and 20-City Composite posted 0.1 percent month-over-month decreases. Those gains bring single family home prices up 32.6% from the bottom and condo prices up 44.2%. The 20-city composite has had price gains slow for three months in a row as the growth spurt earlier in the recovery has lost some of its momentum.

“Nationally, home prices have risen at a consistent 4.8 percent annual pace over the last two years without showing any signs of slowing”, he wrote in June’s report.

Home prices rose at a faster pace than wage growth.

Although the Case-Shiller does not track home prices in Houston, S&P found that prices in Dallas rose 0.9 percent from May to June and 8.9 percent from June 2015, with the latter stat being the fourth best in the country.

“Overall, residential real estate and housing is in good shape”, he continued.

The 20-city price index plunged after the housing bubble started to burst in 2006, plummeting by more than a third before prices began to rise again in March 2012.

The middle third of the market gained 0.6 percent in June, is running 7.3 percent higher versus the same time previous year, has gained 82 percent since 2009 and is now 4.4 percent above its 2006-era peak. In either case it is hard for them to sell.

As pricing continues to grow, however, the number of homes trading hands is down as buyers express concerns over affordability.

That may have hobbled sales in July. Still, that decline came after sales reached their highest level in more than nine years in June. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for June will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for August is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.