Home prices in Greater Boston increased in August.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
Home prices in Greater Boston increased in August as optimism for a continued recovery in the region’s housing market gains momentum, according to the Standard Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a measure of U.S. home prices.
Data from August 2012, showed average Boston area home prices increased by 1.7 percent over the same month one year ago. Case-Shiller studies 20 of the nation’s biggest metropolitan areas. Boston was one of 19 U.S. cities where the index posted positive monthly gains. Seattle was the only exception where prices fell 0.1 percent over the month.
“Home prices continued climbing across the country in August,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at SP Dow Jones Indices, in a statement.
Phoenix continues to lead the home price recovery. It recorded its fourth consecutive month of double-digit annual returns with an 18.8 percent rate for August. Atlanta posted a -6.1 percent annual rate, however it is significantly better than the nine consecutive months of double-digit declines it posted from October 2011 through June 2012. Las Vegas’ annual rate finally moved to positive territory with a 0.9 percent annual rate of change in August 2012, its first since January 2007.
News on home prices confirms other good news about housing. Single-family housing starts are 43 percent ahead of last year’s pace, existing and new home sales are also up, the inventory of homes for sale continues to drop and consumer mortgage default rates are reaching new lows. Further consumer confidence continues to rise.
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