The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices Tuesday, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 4.4 per cent in June, faster than the 3.2 per cent in April and the 3.7 per cent in May.
US HOUSE PRICE INDEX AND PENDING HOME SALES: JUNE 2017
The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices Tuesday, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 4.4 per cent in June, faster than the 3.2 per cent in April and the 3.7 per cent in May. Home prices in nominal terms reached a new high and were 3 per cent higher than the pre-recession peak. House price appreciation continued and averaged 4.5 per cent over the rst six months of 2017.
Elsewhere, the Home Price Index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 per cent in June, slower than the 4.1 per cent increase in May. It was the lowest one in the past three years.
The methodology used to construct the S&P/ Case-Shiller National House Price Index means that it is based on prices of existing homes. However, the data suggest that new home prices have been rising faster than existing home prices since the recession. As a result, the gap between the two has widened from US$20,000, its average between 1990 and 2008, to US$80,000.
US Pending Home Sales
The Pending Home Sales Index decreased in July for the fourth time in five months, and now has decreased year-over-year in three of the past four months. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Thursday, decreased 0.8 per cent to 109.1 in July from a downwardly revised 110.0 in June, and fell 1.3 per cent below a year ago.
NAR reported that although buyer traffic remains higher than a year ago, house hunters face limited options. While the median sales price increased 38 per cent over the past five years, incomes have increased only 12 per cent, putting pressure on affordability, especially for prospective first-time buyers.
