The Case-Shiller home price index shows prices for housing have risen 19.7% since last year. According to Oxford Economics economist Nancy Vanden Houten, “This has to stabilize at some point.” But when will that be? The Wall Street Journal reports:
Home-price growth climbed to a new record in July as buyers continued to compete fiercely amid a shortage of homes for sale, but there are signs the market frenzy might be starting to ease.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 19.7% in the year that ended in July, up from an 18.7% annual rate the prior month. July marked the highest annual rate of price growth since the index began in 1987.
“The last several months have been extraordinary not only in the level of price gains but in the consistency of gains across the country,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
July marked the fourth consecutive month of record price appreciation, he said.
‘The last several months have been extraordinary not only in the level of price gains but in the consistency of gains across the country.’
But the data suggest the market could be starting to cool. Price growth slowed slightly in three of the 20 cities tracked by the index: Detroit, Cleveland and Washington, D.C.
“There are some hints that maybe things are starting to level off,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics. “This has to stabilize at some point.”
The Case-Shiller 10-city index gained 19.1% over the year ended in July, compared with an 18.5% increase in June. The 20-city index rose 19.9%, after an annual gain of 19.1% in June.
Read more here.