National home prices gained a fraction in April, the first non-declining numbers in nearly a year for Integrated Asset Services' monthly IAS360(TM) House Price Index.
On a year-over-year basis, U.S. house prices are still down 13.0%, but the volatility of the trend line is less than the previous year, a critical point to industry analysts the valuation firm said. Three of the four U.S. census regions were stable to positive for April. Only the South, which includes several particularly hard-hit Florida communities, was down for the month (0.3%); however, the mild loss also marked an improvement.
"It's too soon to call this a turn in the housing market, particularly given all the political and regulatory uncertainties," said IAS President/CEO Dave McCarthy. "I think that we're still in for some difficult spells ahead, but we are seeing a certain kind of pricing equilibrium in several important markets. That's encouraging for the long term."
Recommended For You
Among metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), IAS360 reports that three of the country's ten largest MSAs–Boston, Chicago, and San Diego–showed gains. IAS' home city of Denver also showed positive gains for the second straight month.
IAS360 data also revealed evidence of a return to seasonality in California. Counties up and down the state, from Monterey to Riverside, continue to report convincing upticks in housing prices.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
