The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 3.2 percent annual gain in August,
up from 3.1 percent in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase was 1.5 percent, down from 1.6 percent in the previous month, while the 20-City Composite posted a two percent year-over-year gain, unchanged from the previous month.
Before the seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted an increase of 0.2 percent in August while the 10-City and 20-City Composites were flat. After the seasonal adjustment, the National Index rose 0.3 percent in August while the 10-City Composite dipped by 0.1 percent and the 20-City Composite tool a 0.2 percent downturn. Eleven of 20 cities reported increases before the seasonal adjustment while 17 of 20 cities reported increases after seasonal adjustment. Phoenix reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities with a 6.3 percent year-over-year price increase.
Philip Murphy, managing director and global head of Index Governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices, noted a regional shift in this month’s data.
“Las Vegas dropped from number two to number eight among the cities of the 20-City Composite, falling from a 4.7 percent year-over-year change in July to only 3.3 percent in August,” he said. “Meanwhile, the Southeast region included three of the top four cities: Charlotte, Tampa, and Atlanta all recorded solid year-over-year performance with price changes of 4.5 percent, 4.3 percent and four percent, respectively. In the Northwest, Seattle’s year-over-year change turned positive–0.7 percent–after three consecutive months of negative year-over-year price changes.”
Murphy added that San Francisco was the only city to record a negative year-over-year price change with a 0.1 percent decline.
“Growth in home prices, as measured by the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, is beginning to stabilize after 17 months of slowdown," said Tian Liu, Chief Economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance. "This is a positive development because stabilization in home price growth shows that the rebound in home sales has finally restored demand and supply balance in the housing market. That extra purchasing power already translated into tighter supply in the national housing market, which has been a good indicator of the future direction of home price growth.”
