Home Prices Up 7.1% for Q2
Home prices headed 7.1% higher (not seasonally adjusted) in Q2 2013 and 0.9% higher (seasonally adjusted) for June alone, according to an S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index report (link opens as PDF) released today.
After hitting a record high in May, analysts were just slightly off the mark for June, having expected another month of 1% gains.
Although all 20 cities in the index posted monthly gains, price increases seem to have slowed slightly. Prices rose faster than the previous month in just six cities for June, compared to May's 10 cities of price acceleration.
"National home prices rose more than 10% annually in each of the last two quarters," noted David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement today. "Overall, the report shows that housing prices are rising but the pace may be slowing. Thirteen out of twenty cities saw their returns weaken from May to June. As we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, we should expect to see the most gains. With interest rates rising to almost 4.6%, home buyers may be discouraged and sharp increases may be dampened."
Blitzer also pointed to other recent housing data providing mixed messages on growth. New home sales plummeted 13.4% for July, while existing home sales headed 6.5% higher.
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