Pace Slows for Home Price Gains

25 March 2014

S & P Dow Jones

Home prices reportedly declined on an unadjusted basis for the third straight month, but were still up sharply from last year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Indices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent month over month in January but posted a 13.2 percent gain compared to a year before.

In a statement on the results of the indices, David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said that the housing recovery “may have taken a breather due to the cold weather.”

But any adverse weather conditions didn’t squash the momentum of recent price growth altogether.

When adjusting for seasonal factors, home prices actually increased 0.7 percent month over month in January, according to the  20-City Composite Index.