Housing prices in many major US cities rose in September with Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index posting a three percent increase from the same month last year. Prices in the July to September quarter also climbed 3.6 percent compared to last year.
Over the 12-month period to September, prices grew in 18 of 20 cities, with Phoenix leading the charge at 20.4 percent while Atlanta saw a 0.1 percent uptick, ending the city’s 26 consecutive year-on-year declines.
The Business Times reported that 13 cities showed an increase in prices month-on-month from August to September, with Las Vegas moving up 1.4 percent – the highest month-on-month gain while Phoenix and Minneapolis both grew 1.1 percent. However, Cleveland posted the biggest decline at 0.9 percent.
The housing market has seen modest improvement as prices continue to increase steadily, encouraging more potential buyers to purchase homes. Homeowners are also likelier to spend more as higher home prices make them feel wealthier.
With the excess supply of homes during the housing crisis finally declining, the market has therefore recovered. Sales of previously occupied homes dropped to a 10-year low while “inventory of new homes is also near the lowest level since 1963”.
Builders are optimistic that recovery will continue with their confidence reaching the highest level in six-and-a-half years this month.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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