According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, American home prices have completely recovered from the recession. The data shows a 5.5 percent annual gain in September, adding to the 5.1 percent gain we experienced in August. Using the 10-City Composite, the Index reported a 4.3 percent annual increase in September, and the 20-City Composite reported a 5.1 percent gain, resulting in a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase.
David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices comments, “The new peak set by the S&P Case-Shiller CoreLogic National Index will be seen as marking a shift from the housing recovery to the hoped-for start of a new advance. We are currently experiencing the best real estate returns since the bottom in July of 2012, when prices rose at a 5.9 percent real annual rate.”
Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield adds, “With home prices growing to record highs, it’s important to remember this isn’t drive by speculation or easy credit like a decade ago. It is led mostly by constrained home availability as buyers continue to battle over the few homes for sale, especially in the West.”