Another sign emerged the nation’s struggling housing market may be nearing its bottom. The S&P/ Case Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas was up slightly in May over its April level for the first time since 2006. Cleveland, Dallas and San Francisco showed the largest gains in May. The Index was the latest surprise following reports showing monthly gains in new -home sales and housing starts nationwide and higher median home sale prices in California.
The data do show for the first time in quite a few years some potential signs of turnaround. The rapid deterioration in prices has slowed since January. May has been a busy month for home sales, which usually bumps prices up. The index for May was down by 9/10 of a percentage point from April.
The slowing decline in home prices might mean “the free fall housing has been in is clearly over” but not everyone is confident at all we’re seeing the end of the period of price declines. New Home sales have jumped 11% in June over May. New Home sales were so low in May, however, that even with the double digit percentage increase, June’s new home sales total was still the lowest for the month since 1982.
