US home prices rise steadily in June as sales pick up

In all 20 U.S. cities included in the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, June house prices increased both year over year and month over month.

Flickr / Todd DwyerHome prices rose less than expected in June. In May, the index increased 4.4 percent.

Denver, San Francisco, and Dallas saw the biggest gains with price increases of 10.2 percent, 9.5 percent, and 8.2 percent, respectively.

Nationally, home prices grew 4.5 percent year-over-year.

Blitzer attributed consistent price growth to falling unemployment rates, steady inflation and the Federal Reserve’s decision, so far, to hold interest rates flat. The 10-City Composite posted a month-over-month gain of 0.9%.

All 20 cities reported increases in June before seasonal adjustment; after seasonal adjustment, nine were down, nine were up, and two were unchanged.

The FHFA’s report showed that in the second quarter, prices rose 1.2%, in-line with expectations. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was up 0.2% from May. House prices rose 5.4% from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015.

Nationwide sales of existing homes rebounded to their pre-recession pace in July, and new construction is showing some momentum after a long sluggish stretch.

The trend is most pronounced around Washington, where home values slipped on an annual as well as on a monthly basis. Prices were weakest in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ, where they fell -1.1%.

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

House prices keep creeping up, though Cleveland continues to lag most other major cities when it comes to appreciation.