NEW YORK CITY—In another sign of the economy coming back to life, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which was released on Tuesday, shows dramatic increases in recent home prices across much of the country.
Data released by S&P Dow Jones Indices for the Case-Shiller report, showed average home prices increased 7.3% for the 10-city composite and 8.1% for the 20-city composite in the 12 months ending in January 2013.
All 20 cities posted year-over-year gains, with Phoenix showing the biggest spike of 23.2%. New York was the comeback story of the data, posting positive numbers after 28 months of negative annual returns, according to the announcement. Nineteen of the twenty cities showed acceleration in their year-over-year returns. Detroit was the lone holdout; it was the only city to show a deceleration, despite posting a positive double-digit annual return, the announcement says.
In January 2013, the 10-and 20-city composites posted annual increases of 7.3% and 8.1%, respectively, and monthly increases of 0.2% and 0.1%.
There might have been a time when those numbers didn't mean much but this go-around they represent a marked change from recent history, says David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in the announcement.
"The two headline composites posted their highest year-over-year increases since summer 2006," he says. "This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst.
"After more than two years of consecutive year-over-year declines, New York reversed trend and posted a positive return in January. The Southwest (Phoenix and Las Vegas) plus San Francisco posted the highest annual increases; they were also among the hardest hit by the housing bust. Atlanta and Dallas recorded their highest year-over-year gains.
"Economic data continues to support the housing recovery,” he continues in the announcement. “Single-family home building permits and housing starts posted double-digit year-over-year increases in February 2013. Despite a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, numbers are still down 25% year-over-year. Steady employment and low borrowing rates pushed inventories down to their lowest post-recession levels."
For the 10-city composite, nine cities—Atlanta, Charlotte, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Tampa—posted positive monthly returns. Dallas was the only MSA where the level remained flat.
In terms of annual rates of change, all 20 cities as well as both composites posted positive change. Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix and San Francisco were the eight MSAs to report double-digit annual returns.
More information on the housing market can be found on the S&P Dow Jones Indices' housing blog, at www.housingviews.com. For those looking to review previous years, more than 26 years of history for these reports are available, and can be accessed in full here.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
