Tag Archives: Home Prices

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, released Tuesday, showed house prices gained 9.3 percent across 20 of the country's biggest cities, down substantially from the 10.8 percent increase recorded for April and the slowest growth rate since February 2013. Economists had expected an increase of 9.9 percent for May.

NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, an indicator of future home sales based on contract signings, fell to 102.7 last month, down 1.1 percent from May and 7.3 percent from June 2013. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said that while the housing market is stabilizing, ongoing challenges are holding sales back from their full potential.

Home prices in May hit a national index value of $239,000, according to Black Knight Financial Services' most recent Home Price Index (HPI) report.

Wells Fargo's Economics Group recently released its July 2014 economic outlook for Minnesota, reinforcing that while the state's economy is greatly improved, housing still lags behind, with traditional homebuyers in no great hurry to return to the market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI) increased 0.4 percent in May from April, the agency reported Tuesday. Seasonally adjusted price changes from April to May ranged widely across the nine census divisions, from a low of -0.7 percent in the East South Central area to +1.1 percent in the West South Central division.

While home prices continue to decelerate on an annual basis after reaching peak speed in February, price gains did pick up slightly from April to May, according to FNC's latest price index. After rising 0.6 percent over the month in both March and April, national home prices rose 1 percent in May, according to FNC's data, which excludes the sales of distressed properties.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a 2.6 percent month-over-month rise in existing-home sales last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million. May sales were revised slightly upward to a rate of 4.91 million. June sales were at their highest pace since October 2013, though they remain 2.3 percent down from the 5.16 million pace set a year ago.

The California housing market continued on its 2014 trend line in June, picking up from a month prior but remaining subdued compared to last year's more active market. According to real estate data site DataQuick, an estimated 39,254 new and resale homes and condos sold statewide throughout California last month, reflecting a 4.0 percent increase from 37,734 in May.

Redfin released its latest market summary, which sees the combination of sales, prices, foot traffic, and inventory as positive signs heading into the fall. "After an abysmal first quarter that drove a disappointing first half, housing will be playing catch-up for the year," said Nela Richardson, Redfin's chief economist. "Though it won't be a seamless transition, we believe the housing market is positioning itself for a stronger finish in the second half of the year."

In its monthly National Housing Report, RE/MAX observed another month-to-month climb in transaction levels, marking the fourth straight month of increases following a poor showing at the start of the year. All 52 surveyed metros reported monthly gains. While sales figures remain down nearly 2 percent compared to June 2013, the company says the year-over-year difference is the smallest one recorded year-to-date.