Case-Shiller: Home Prices Rise At Fastest Rate Since 2006

• April 30, 2013

by UrbanTurf Staff

Home prices in the DC area increased by 6.9 percent between February 2012 and February 2013, according to the latest Case-Shiller report released this morning. Nationally, prices rose 9.3 percent year-over-year, the highest year-over-year growth rate in seven years.

Seasonally adjusted, home prices rose 0.3 percent between January and February in the DC area, and 1.2 percent nationally over the same period.

Case-Shiller February 2013

From the report:

All 20 cities covered by the indices posted year-over-year increases for at least two consecutive months. In 16 of the 20 cities annual growth rates rose from the last month; Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix saw slight annual deceleration ranging from -0.1 to -0.4 percentage points. Phoenix continued to stand out with an impressive year-over-year return of +23.0% while Atlanta and Dallas had the highest annual growth rates in the history of these indices since 1992 and 2001, respectively.

Between January and February, home prices in the DC area increased in every price tier: low (homes under $285,369), middle (homes between $285,369 and $456,464) and high (above $456,464).

David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, on today’s numbers:

“Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March, housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy. The 2013 first quarter GDP report shows that residential investment accelerated from the 2012 fourth quarter and made a positive contribution to growth. One open question is the mix of single family and apartments; housing starts data show a larger than usual share is apartments.”

The Case-Shiller Disclaimer

When considering the Case-Shiller findings, recall that the index is based on closed sales and home price data from several months ago. (A better indicator of where area prices stand right now is the April report from RealEstate Business Intelligence.) 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_home_prices_rise_9.3_percent_nationally/6999