Home prices barely cooled in the winter of 2013, as the 10-city and 20-city Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Composite Indices shot up 13.8% and 13.7%, respectively, when compared to year earlier levels.
In fact, several cities, including Dallas, recorded record highs with the Big-D posting its largest annual home price return of 9.9%. That record is based on numbers going back to 2000.
Chicago also experienced an annual appreciation rate of 11% — its highest since December 1988.
Looking at just monthly growth, the two composites declined 0.1% in November, the first decline in more than a year.
But it was a slight drop, and the data still paints a picture of a relatively strong housing market. Nine out of 20 cities still had positive monthly home price returns.
Boston and Cleveland were the only cities not in the Sun Belt to see gains. Once strong gainers — Minneapolis and San Diego — remained essentially flat.
"November was a good month for home prices," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
"Despite the slight decline, the 10-City and 20-City Composites showed their best November performance since 2005. Prices typically weaken as we move closer to the winter. Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix stand out as they have posted 20 or more consecutive monthly gains."
Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield noted that prices edged down for the first time in November, breaking months of consecutive price increases. Yet, he found a silver lining in the breaking tide.
He explained, "When we look at prices through a more holistic lens, we see a healthy yearly increase in prices and the telling signs of a healthy housing market. Home prices may be leveling off, but this slowdown quells all fears of a bubble, while the annual increases can encourage owners to list their home."
