Home prices in 20 U.S. cities continued to gain at a solid pace in July, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data released Tuesday.
The 20-city property values index climbed 5% from July 2015 (the forecast was for 5.1%), after a 5.1% year-over-year rise in June. The national home-price gauge increased 5.1% from 12 months earlier. On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted
Steady price appreciation is keeping the housing market on a reassuring path at the start of the second half of 2016. The residential real estate market took a breather last month, with existing-home sales unexpectedly declining in August while purchases of new properties retreated from a nine-year high. Durable job gains and borrowing costs lingering near record lows should remain a support for potential homebuyers.
"Both the housing sector and the economy continue to expand," David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. While some cities are seeing rapid price gains, "there is no reason to fear that another massive collapse is around the corner" because mortgage debt is rising at a relatively slow pace.
All 20 cities in the index showed year-over-year gains, led by a 12.4% increase in Portland, Ore., and 11.2% in Seattle. New York and Washington posted the smallest 12-month advances. After seasonal adjustment, Portland had the biggest month-over-month gain at 0.7%, while Chicago showed the largest decrease at 0.5%. Six cities showed seasonally adjusted price declines in July compared with the prior month, also including New York, Atlanta and Detroit.
