Case-Shiller: DC Home Prices Rise Slightly

• March 27, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

The latest Case-Shiller report released this morning showed that seasonally-adjusted home prices increased in the DC area between December 2011 and January 2012, while falling slightly year-over-year. The index reported that national home prices decreased on a monthly basis (-0.8%) and annual basis (-3.8%).

January 2012

Between December 2011 and January 2012, home prices increased in every price tier for the DC area: the low tier (under $293,756), the middle tier (homes between $293,756 and $457,827) and the high tier (above $457,827).

The lay of the land for home prices in cities across the country was a little uneven at the beginning of 2012. From Case-Shiller:

In addition to the Composites, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington DC saw their annual rates improve compared to December; while nine of the MSAs saw their annual returns worsen compared to what was reported for December 2011.

When considering the Case-Shiller findings, recall that the index is based on closed sales and home price data from several months ago. Another thing that is important to note is that the main index only covers single-family home prices, so co-op and condo prices are not included in the analysis that is widely reported. Chicago and New York City are two of the cities where Case-Shiller provides a separate index for condo prices, but DC does not have a similar index.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly when considering the conclusions of the index, the area covered by Case-Shiller can only very loosely be described as the “DC area”. According to the site, the following cities are included: DC, Calvert MD, Charles MD, Frederick MD, Montgomery MD, Prince Georges MD, Alexandria City VA, Arlington VA, Clarke VA, Fairfax VA, Fairfax City VA, Falls Church City VA, Fauquier VA, Fredericksburg City VA, Loudoun VA, Manassas City VA, Manassas Park City VA, Prince William VA, Spotsylvania VA, Stafford VA, Warren VA, Jefferson WV.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/case-shiller_dc_home_prices_rise_slightly/5336