Housing Index Shows Regional Housing Prices Up

San Diego housing prices edged upward in August and the national real estate trend continued to improve, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Housing Price Indices.

Local sales prices were up 0.9 percent in August compared to July, and up 1.9 percent from August 2011.

The Case-Shiller Indices set housing prices in the cities in January 2000 at 100 and tracked their subsequent rise or fall. San Diego's mark this past August was 157.84, nearly 58 percent appreciation in value over a dozen years, fifth-highest in the nation.

The 20 markets tracked by the indices nationally averaged out at 145.87 in August, an increase of 0.9 percent over the previous month and a jump of 2 percent for the year.

“Home prices continued climbing across the country in August,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Nineteen of the 20 cities and both composites showed monthly gains in August. Seventeen cities and both composites posted positive annual returns in August 2012.”

The only city with a monthly dip in the report was Seattle, down 0.1 percent. Over the past year, the only losers were Atlanta, Chicago and New York.

Phoenix housing prices gained 18.8 percent in the past year.

Only Atlanta, Detroit and Las Vegas have housing prices below their January 2000 starting points.

– City News Service