Home Prices On Rise: Case-Shiller

Home prices continued to rise in September in what, however, are mixed signals from this morning's Case-Shiller and FHFA reports. Case-Shiller data came in at the high end of expectations with a 0.5 percent monthly rise for the 20-city adjusted index and a year-on-year gain of 6.2 percent which is the best in 3-1/2 years. FHFA's house price index rose 0.3 percent which is just below Econoday's low estimate. FHFA's year-on-year rate of 6.3 percent is the lowest since January.

Details in the Case-Shiller report show wide strength with all 20 cities posting monthly gains led by Atlanta, San Francisco and Las Vegas at all 1 percent or more. Seattle continues to dominate in the year-on-year category, up 13.0 percent and the only city in double digits.

Among other details, October prices are right in line with the yearly average hence Case-Shiller's unadjusted monthly index is nearly the same as the adjusted, at a 0.4 percent monthly gain.

Where there's acceleration in Case-Shiller, there is however slowing in FHFA. Taking these two reports together, home prices appear to be steady at a roughly 6 percent annual rate which is rich in a low inflation, low interest rate economy.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Case-Shiller home prices, like the FHFA index, moved higher in August and another gain is expected for September. Econoday's consensus is calling for a 0.4 percent increase in the 20-city adjusted index following August's 0.5 percent rise. The consensus for the unadjusted monthly index is also 0.4 percent with the consensus for the year-on-year rate at 6.2 percent.