The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed average home prices increased 7.3% for the 10-city composite and 8.1% for the 20-city composite in the 12 months ending in January.
All 20 cities posted year-over-year gains, with Phoenix leading the way with a gain of 23.2%. Nineteen of the 20 cities showed acceleration in their year-over-year returns, with Detroit as the only city to show a deceleration.
‘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,’ Blitzer adds. ‘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 percent year-over-year. Steady employment and low borrowing rates pushed inventories down to their lowest post-recession levels.’