Average home prices increase 2.2% in May

Average home prices increase 2.2% in May: Case-Shiller

By Kerri Ann Panchuk

Average home prices grew by 2.2% from April to May, according to the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report.

The 2.2% price increase is tied to both the 10- and 20-city composite indices studied by S&P.

"The 10- and 20-city composites were each up 2.2% for the month and recorded respective annual rates of decline of 1% and 0.7%, compared to May 2011," S&P said Tuesday. "While still negative, these annual changes are the best we’ve seen since in at least 18 months."
The S&P Case Shiller also noted that 17 of the 20 metropolitan areas studied in its report saw increases in annual price returns when comparing the months of April and May.

The cities where prices continued to waiver included Boston, Charlotte and Detroit, with their annual price returns hitting -0.1%, a slight 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively.

Atlanta remains a bear market with the city posting a double-digit negative annual price return rate of -14.5%. Still, Case-Shiller calls that change greatly improved from the negative 17% annual decline reported in Atlanta back in April.
Phoenix, on the other hand, has gone from cold to hot with prices on the rise.
"Taking a closer look at the cities, Phoenix again posted the best annual return," the S&P Case-Shiller said. "Average home prices in that region were up 11.5% versus May 2011. It was one of the hardest hit cities in the collapse, and prices are still more than 50% below their June 2006 peak, but the past five months have been positive for that market."

Other formerly cold markets with positive annual return rates included Miami and Tampa.
Looking at the latest data, the S&P Case-Shiller is cautiously optimistic about home prices and the real estate market.
"June data for existing home sales, new home sales, housing starts and mortgage default rates were a bit mixed, but all are better than their year-ago levels," the report said. "The housing market seems to be stabilizing, but we are definitely in a wait-and-see mode for the next few months."
Capital Economics released a statement on the report, saying "the fourth successive rise in the Case-Shiller measure of seasonally-adjusted house prices means that prices are experiencing more than just their usual seasonal lift." The research firm added, "Moreover, tight supply conditions and an underlying improvement in demand suggest that prices are not going to give up all of these gains in the second half of the year."

With Low Supply, Asking Prices Rise for Fifth Straight Month

By Nick Timiraos

Click for metro-level data

Home sellers are staying on the sidelines this summer, which is helping to firm up prices in more U.S. housing markets.
The number of homes listed for sale rose by just 0.5% in June from May and was down 19.4% from one year ago, according to Realtor.com. Slightly less than 1.89 million homes were listed for sale in June, which is lower than at any time in 2011 or 2010.
Listings are down in part because banks have been slower to move foreclosed properties onto the market and investors are buying up more of them at courthouse auction sales and renting them out. Meanwhile, traditional sellers are frequently unwilling to list their homes amid signs that prices are turning around in more markets. And in some of the markets with the biggest inventory drops, many owe more than their homes are worth and may be unable to sell without taking a big loss.
Compared with one year ago, listings were down in all but two of the 146 markets tracked by Realtor.com. Inventory has fallen by nearly 58% in Oakland, Calif.; by 49% in Fresno, Calif.; by 47% in Bakersfield, Calif.; and by 43% in Seattle.
Big inventory drops are pushing up prices. Median asking prices rose for the fifth straight month and were 2.7% higher than one year ago, though they were up by just 0.05% for the month. By contrast, last year’s disappointing spring sales season prompted sellers to cut prices by 1% in June from May.
About two thirds of all markets saw median prices increase in June from one year ago, and about one third of all markets saw median prices rise by at least 5%. The biggest gainers were Phoenix, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara, Calif. Prices declined in just 19 markets, with the biggest declines reported in Allentown, Pa.; Peoria, Ill.; and Toledo, Ohio.
Another sign of the improvement this spring: The median age of inventory listed for sale fell by nearly 10% from one year ago. That means sellers are finding buyers more quickly for their homes.

Prices are going up, up up !! time to buy now !!!

CAR sees state housing market improving, housing prices at 2010 high

By City News Service

Posted:   07/17/2012 09:25:33 AM PDT

Updated:   07/17/2012 09:32:00 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES - California's housing market exhibited signs of continuing improvement in June, with home sales showing solid gains and home prices reaching their highest level since August 2010, the California Association of Realtors reported today.
"Although home sales throughout the state continued to improve compared with a year earlier, we did see a modest dip compared with May," said CAR President LeFrancis Arnold. "Potential home buyers are frustrated by limited number of homes on the market for sale and growing discouraged by signs that the economy is slowing."
Closed escrow sales of existing single-family detached homes in California declined 8.6 percent from May's revised 567,330 to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 518,460 in June, according to Los Angeles-based CAR.
June sales rose 8.5 percent from June 2011's revised 478,040 pace. The statewide sales figure, which is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales, represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2012 if sales maintained the June pace throughout the year.
Home prices also continued to improve, with the median home price -- $320,540 in June for an existing single-family detached home in California -- posting month-over-month and year-over-year gains for the fourth straight month, according to a CAR statement.
June's price rose 1.3 percent from a revised $316,410 in May and 8.1 percent from a revised $296,410

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recorded in June 2011, CAR reported. The June 2012 figure was 30.7 percent higher than the cyclical bottom of $245,230 reached in February 2009. The median price posted above the $300,000 level in June for the third straight month after remaining below that mark for 15 months, according to CAR.