Case-Shiller: home prices up for the fourth month in a row

The S&P’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices data through July 2011, released Tuesday, showed a fourth consecutive month of increases for the 10- and 20-City Composites, with both up 0.9 percent in July over June.

Seventeen of the 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and both Composites posted positive monthly increases; Las Vegas and Phoenix were down over the month and Denver was unchanged. On an annual basis, Detroit and Washington, D.C., were the two MSA that posted positive rates of change, up 1.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The remaining 18 MSAs and the 10- and 20- City Composites were down in July 2011 versus the same month last year. After three consecutive double-digit annual declines, Minneapolis improved marginally to a decline of 9.1 percent, which is still the worst of the 20 cities.

“With July’s data we are seeing not only anticipated monthly increases, but some fairly broad improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. “This is still a seasonal period of stronger demand for houses, so monthly price increases are expected and were seen in 17 of the 20 cities. The exceptions were Las Vegas and Phoenix, where prices fell, while Denver was flat. The better news is that 14 of 20 cities and both Composites saw their annual rates of change improve in July.”

For more information, see the press release.