U.S. Home-Price Growth Climbs at Fastest Rate in Nearly Three Years

Realtor.com

11 May  2017

U.S. house prices continued to show no signs of slowing, hitting their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Dallas.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.9% in the three-month period ending in February compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.7% yearly increase in January. This is the highest rate since July 2014.

The 20-city index was up 0.4% for the month, or a 0.7% gain when seasonally adjusted.

Economists had forecast a 0.8% monthly gain and a 5.8% yearly gain for the 20-city index.

Metro Monthly change (%) 12-month change (%)
Atlanta 0.4 5.6
Boston 0.4 7.6
Charlotte 0.5 6.1
Chicago 0.2 6.2
Cleveland -0.3 4.5
Dallas 1.1 8.8
Denver 0.4 8.5
Detroit 0.3 6.2
Las Vegas 0.4 6.3
Los Angeles 0.4 5.1
Miami 0 6.7
Minneapolis 0.1 5.9
New York 0 3.2
Phoenix 0.4 5.3
Portland 0.8 9.7
San Diego 1 6.5
San Francisco 1.2 6.4
Seattle 1.9 12.2
Tampa -0.5 6.9
Washington 0.2 4.1

The national index, which just a few months ago regained the high last seen during the housing bubble of a decade ago, rose 5.8% for the year, a 32-month high.

The largest price increases are still in the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and Portland. Dallas replaced Denver in the top three with an 8.8% increase.

Only Cleveland and Tampa saw prices fall in the February period. Prices were flat in New York and Miami.

Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency also released home-price data for February, which is based on mortgages backed or guaranteed by FHFA-regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It showed a seasonally adjusted 0.8% rise for February and a 6.4% year-over-year improvement.

Over 12 months, the Mountain region — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico — had the fastest growth of 9.5%.