Home prices in the second quarter gained across all headline composite indices measured in the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller report.
This is the first time all three headline composites studied by S&P have reported positive annual growth simultaneously since the summer of 2010.
“This is a clear sign we’ve turned around,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of Standard & Poor’s Index Committee in an interview on CNBC.
The national composite for U.S. home prices rose 1.2% from last year in the second quarter and grew 6.9% from the first quarter of 2012.
The 10-city composite index, meanwhile, edged up 0.1% over year ago levels while the 20-City composite grew 0.5%.
Home prices in the 10-city composite rose 2.2% from May to June while the 20-city composite increased 2.3% during the same period.
All 20 cities studied by S&P Dow Jones reported positive price gains for the second consecutive month in a row. Only Charlotte and Dallas saw a deceleration in annual gains during June, while 18 of 20 metro areas posted better price returns over last year.
“There were only six cities – Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and San Diego – where the annual rates of change were still negative,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Boston’s annual rate was flat. We seem to be witnessing exactly what we needed for a sustained recovery; monthly increases coupled with improving annual rates of change. The market may have finally turned around.”
Detroit’s home prices rose the most from May to June, increasing 6% while Charlotte grew the least with prices up only 1% over the previous month.
“We are aware that we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, but the combined positive news coming from both monthly and annual rates of change in home prices bode well for the housing market,” concluded Blitzer.
