The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices data has some good news for the economy, with January seeing a 7.3% rise in the 10-city composite and an 8.3% in the 20-city composite. The biggest gain came from Phoenix, which saw a 23% rise.
The rises mean that as of January, average US home prices are back to their late 2003 levels…thought they’re still about 30% off from the summer 2006 peak.
Per the press release:
�The two headline composites posted their highest year-over-year increases since summer 2006,� says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. �This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst…
�Economic data continues to support the housing recovery. Single-family home building permits and housing starts posted double-digit year-over-year increases in February 2013. Despite a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, numbers are still down 25% year-over-year. Steady employment and low borrowing rates pushed inventories down to their lowest post-recession levels.�
Futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a slight fraction in the wake of the news.
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