Analysis

Home Prices Increase in the April S&P/Case-Shiller HPI

June 27, 2016

Home prices continued to climb in April according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Data released for April 2016 20-city composite showed a 0.5 percent month-over-month increase, and a gain of 5.4 percent year-over-year.

Year-over-year rates were highest in cities in the West with Portland up 12.3 percent, Seattle up 10.7 percent, and Denver gaining 9.5 percent. Washington DC and New York City fell at the low end of the price increases at 1.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Fifteen of the 20 cities showed monthly gains and nine reported increases year-over-year.

”The housing sector continues to turn in a strong price performance with the S&P/Case-Shiller National Index rising at a 5% or greater annual rate for six consecutive months,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The home price increases reflect the low unemployment rate, low mortgage interest rates, and consumers’ generally positive outlook. One result is that an increasing number of cities have surpassed the high prices seen before the Great Recession. Currently, seven cities – Denver, Dallas, Portland OR, San Francisco, Seattle, Charlotte, and Boston – are setting new highs.

“However, the outlook is not without a lot of uncertainty and some risk. Last week’s vote by Great Britain to leave the European Union is the most recent political concern while the U.S. elections in the fall raise uncertainty and will distract home buyers and investors in the coming months. The details in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price data also hint at possible softness. Seasonally adjusted figures in the report show that three cities saw lower prices in April compared to only one city in March. Among the 20 cities, 16 saw either declines or smaller increases in monthly prices in the seasonally adjusted numbers.”

For more information on specific cities include in the composite indices, go to the press release here.