New record tops previous peak from a decade ago, caps a four-year recovery
By Laura Kusisto | The Wall Stret Journal
U.S. home prices have climbed back above the record reached more than a decade ago, bringing to a close the worst period for the housing market since the Great Depression and stoking optimism for a more sustainable expansion.
The average home price for September was 0.1% above the July 2006 peak, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index released Tuesday. As of the previous month’s reading of the Case-Shiller index, a widely used benchmark for U.S. housing, prices remained 0.1% below the July 2006 record.
Adjusted for inflation, the index still is about 16% below the 2006 high. Home prices jumped 5.5% over the past year.
