IAS Home Price Index Rises 1.1%

The IAS360 House Price Index rose 1.1% on a national level in June and was 11.5% below the level recorded a year earlier, according to Integrated Asset Services LLC, Denver. The index tracks monthly changes in the median sales price of detached single-family residences in "neighborhoods" in 360 counties across the United States, the company said. Three of the four U.S. regions designated by the index experienced house price appreciation in June, while the West recorded a 0.5% decline, IAS reported. The gains in the other regions were 4.7% in the Midwest, 1.7% in the South, and 0.4% in the Northeast. "The IAS360 HPI is not a seasonally adjusted or smoothed index," said Dave McCarthy, president and chief executive of IAS. "Typically, small month-to-month appreciation is present in the summer due to increased seasonal housing demand. Therefore, strengthening of the market in the summer can occur even when the longer-term market trend might be downward." The company, a provider of default management and residential collateral valuation services, can be found online at http://www.iasreo.com.