S&P: Home Prices Rose in 2Q but Mortgage Money a Problem
August 31, 2010
Home prices rose 4.4% in the second quarter on a sequential basis, erasing a 2.8% decline in the first quarter, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index released Tuesday morning.
Nationally, home prices are up 3.6% in June from a year ago.
Discussing the numbers, S&P's index committee chairman David Blitzer cited a lack of mortgage money for the difficult housing market. He said "three to four years ago" just about anyone could get a loan but today "no one seems able to get a loan no matter what."
The S&P Case-Shiller HPI is a three-month moving average. Home price appreciation slowed month-to-month during the second quarter after the homebuyer tax credit expired April 30.
In June, the HPI rose 1% after a 1.3% increase in May.
"Housing prices have rebounded from crisis lows, but other housing indicators point to more ominous signs as tax incentives have ended and foreclosures continue," according to the new report.
Last week the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its HPI, showing that home prices edged down 0.3% on seasonally adjusted basis in June from the prior month. FHFA's index is based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase mortgage transactions only.
House prices fell 2.3% in June after rising 0.9% in May, according to a CoreLogic HPI.
For more information on related topics, visit the following:
