• May 09, 2017 U.S. Home-Price Growth Climbs at Fastest Rate in Nearly Three Years
    Alan Bermudez
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    U.S. house prices continued to show no signs of slowing, hitting their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Dallas.

    The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.9% in the three-month period ending in February compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.7% yearly increase in January. This is the highest rate since July 2014.

    Economists had forecast a 0.8% monthly gain and a 5.8% yearly gain for the 20-city index.

    Metro Monthly change (%) 12-month change (%)
    Atlanta 0.4 5.6
    Boston 0.4 7.6
    Charlotte 0.5 6.1
    Chicago 0.2 6.2
    Cleveland -0.3 4.5
    Dallas 1.1 8.8
    Denver 0.4 8.5
    Detroit 0.3 6.2
    Las Vegas 0.4 6.3
    Los Angeles 0.4 5.1
    Miami 0 6.7
    Minneapolis 0.1 5.9
    New York 0 3.2
    Phoenix 0.4 5.3
    Portland 0.8 9.7
    San Diego 1 6.5
    San Francisco 1.2 6.4
    Seattle 1.9 12.2
    Tampa -0.5 6.9
    Washington 0.2 4.1

    The national index, which just a few months ago regained the high last seen during the housing bubble of a decade ago, rose 5.8% for the year, a 32-month high.

    The largest price increases are still in the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and Portland. Dallas replaced Denver in the top three with an 8.8% increase.

    Only Cleveland and Tampa saw prices fall in the February period. Prices were flat in New York and Miami.

    Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency also released home-price data for February, which is based on mortgages backed or guaranteed by FHFA-regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It showed a seasonally adjusted 0.8% rise for February and a 6.4% year-over-year improvement.

    Over 12 months, the Mountain region — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico — had the fastest growth of 9.5%.

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      Alan Bermudez

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