U.S. home prices dip in Jan. for third straight month

0

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices dipped in January for
the third straight month as cold weather, a limited supply of homes and
higher mortgage rates lowered sales.
The Standard &
Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, declined
0.1 percent from December to January, the same decline as the previous
two months. The index is not adjusted for seasonal variations, so the
dip partly reflects weaker sales in the winter.
The index rose a
healthy 13.2 percent in January compared with 12 months earlier. But
that is down from a 13.4 percent increase in 2013 and is the second
straight month that the annual gain has slowed.
Still, most
economists see the price moderation as a positive trend. Home prices
jumped over the past two years partly because investors swooped in and
bid up prices in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix and other cities in the
south and west. Rapid price increases have likely kept some buyers on
the sidelines.
"The housing market is showing signs of moving
forward with more normal price increases," said David Blitzer, chairman
of the S&P Dow Jones index committee.
The Case-Shiller index
covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared
with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The
December figures are the latest available.
The slowdown in price
gains follows other signs that the housing recovery has hit a rough
spot. Sales of existing homes in February fell to their lowest level
since July 2012. Home construction slipped last month for the third
month in a row, though builders sought the most permits than in any
month in four years.
Some economists say the Case-Shiller figures
overstate recent price gains because they include foreclosures.
Foreclosed homes usually sell at steep discounts. As the proportion of
those sales declines, the index rises more sharply.
Other indexes that exclude foreclosures show smaller but steady increases.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

No posts to display