U.S. residential property values gained more traction in June amid signs of slower economic growth and a stagnant labor market, according to FNC’s latest residential price index.
The index comes out on the heels of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which also showed rising prices.
Home prices in June rose for the fourth consecutive month, FNC’s RPI showed. They were up at a seasonally unadjusted rate of 1.1% from the previous month. The figure is based on recorded sales of nondistressed properties, including existing and new homes, in the 100 largest metros.
On a quarterly basis, home prices rose 2.7% during the second quarter, the largest increase in six years. Year to date, home prices were up nearly 4% since January.
Fewer sales of distressed properties continues to be an important factor in driving home prices higher. Rising demand has narrowed the gap between homeowners’ asking prices and final sales prices to a five-year low. Asking prices, meanwhile, have risen to a four-year high.
All three RPI composites (the national, 30-MSA, and 10-MSA indices) show strong month-to-month price momentum during the second quarter. On a quarterly basis, each composite index gained nearly 3% between the first and second quarter. The indices’ year-to-year trends continue to show rapid decelerations in the pace of price declines.
Nationally, June home prices are down only 0.2% from a year ago. If the current trend continues, July will likely mark the first time since the housing crash that home prices will have risen over the previous year.
An increasing number of markets are exhibiting positive year-to-year change, led by Phoenix at 6.2%. Between January and June, home prices in the Phoenix area rose 10.7%, or an average of 2.1% per month for five months.
In Miami, seven consecutive months of rising prices have pushed the year-to-year change into positive territory at 1.8%.
Case-Shiller also reported that all three of its indexes reported positive annual growth simultaneously since the summer of 2010.
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