In yet another sign that the national housing market is stabilizing, the latest Case-Shiller/S&P Home Price Index reports that rose 1.6 percent from June to July across 20 major metropolitan areas collectively.
This latest bump comes on the heels of a a 1.4 percent increase for the previous month and is the third straight month that prices have risen. Despite the recent good news, prices are still down over 13% year-over-year for the composite index. Prices are lower in every one of the 20 cities surveyed compared with a year ago.
Analysts warn that a range of factors, including higher unemployment, a new wave of foreclosures, and the looming expiration of the federal tax credit for new home buyers on November 30th could put the brakes on the budding housing recovery.
Here is a chart showing the Case-Shiller Index over the last year, thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle:
The metro areas that saw the biggest price increases over the last month include Minneapolis, San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta. Seattle and Las Vegas were the only two cities that saw a decline in prices from June to July.
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[...] These low home loan rates, combined with the federal tax credit for first time homebuyers drove up the number of signed home sales contracts for the seventh straight month, the National Association of Realtors reported. The association said that its index of sales agreements rose 6.4 percent from July to 103.8, beating forecasts. The index was 12 percent higher than a year ago, matching similar reporting on home sales from the Case-Shiller home sales index. [...]
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