Journalist’s Resource.org
The U.S. housing news is in, and the news is good: The S&P/Case-Shiller price index rose significantly in May 2013, up 12.2% over a year earlier. The index is based on sales in 20 bellwether U.S. metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. All 20 cities posted gains over the previous year, including Detroit and Las Vegas, both of which suffered significantly during the 2006 housing bust and ensuing economic crisis.
Digging deeper, however, there are a number of less obvious reasons for the dazzling jump: One significant contributor was the falling number of distressed properties sold — foreclosure rates are at a six-year low; previously, the discounted prices of houses sold by banks had been pushing the average down. The supply of houses on the market remains limited as well, encouraging bidding wars. It’s also important to remember that despite attention-getting numbers in Dallas and Denver — both cities topped records back to the year 2000 — overall the S&P/Case-Shiller index would need to gain an additional 50% to reach its 2006 peak.
If you’d like to discuss real estate matters, contact Rose Law Group founder Jordan Rose, jrose@roselawgroup.com
