Home price index up for 1st time in 3 years
Index of 20 major cities rises on a monthly basis for the first time since July 2006, hinting that the worst of the declines may be over.
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: July 28, 2009: 9:33 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The value of U.S. homes grew on a monthly basis in May for the first time in nearly three years, according to 20-city index released Tuesday.
The month-over-month increase was 0.5%, according to the report from financial data company Standard & Poor's and economists Case-Shiller. It was the first increase in the monthly index since July 2006.
On an annual basis, home prices in the 20 cities fell 17.1%, but it was the fourth straight month that the year-over-year decline lessened.
"This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilizing," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee S&P, in a prepared statement.
While acknowleding that the report was good news, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, downplayed the importance of a single month's statistics.
"I think it's a temporary respite," he said. "It reflects the recent decline in foreclosure sales, and prices will continue to fall over the next several months."
Blitzer acknowledged the problem.
"While many indicators are showing signs of life in the U.S. housing market, we should remember that on a year-over-year basis home prices are still down about 17% on average across all metro areas, so we likely do have a way to go before we see sustained home price appreciation," he said.
The improvement was as broad as it was deep, with 13 metro areas showing gains, compared with eight in April. Two, New York and Tampa, Fla., showed no change.
The biggest winner was long-suffering Cleveland, where prices rose 4.1%. The city still falling the most was Las Vegas, where prices declined 2.6%.
The report added to the list of positive housing market indicators. These include rising new home sales, increased home building and increased pending sales.
Washington's goal: Stabilizing the housing market has been a primary goal of Washington policy makers. Congress has tried to stimulate homebuying by creating a temporary tax credit of $8,000 for people who have not owned a home for at least three years.
The administration has also tried to tackle the foreclosure problem, creating a program to help mortgage borrowers avoid defaulting on their loan payments and losing their homes.
Zandi added that lenders are still figuring out the administration's foreclosure prevention plan, and have suspended the foreclosure process for many borrowers in default. That means fewer distressed properties, which tend to bring in lower prices, than usual.
These efforts may have given the market a boost. Prices have also fallen so far in so many places that it's drawing people back into the market.
In Las Vegas, prices are off about 53% from their peak, set in August 2006. Phoenix prices are down 54%.
Overall, the 20-city index is down more than 32% from its high.
Interest rates were very low in May, which also could have helped the housing market. The rate for a 30-year mortgage was well below 5% during the month, which encouraged buyers and drove up demand.
Zandi is hopeful that the market is stabilizing. "It feels like the cycle is winding down," he said. "I think it depends on how well the mortgage modification plan will work and I'm guessing it will work reasonably well."