For the third month in a row, Chicago has posted some of the most positive home price increases in the nation in the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s.

By Peter Ricci

Chicago home prices posted yet another strong month of growth in the July Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, rising 2.7 percent from June to July.

For the last three months, in fact, Chicago home prices have been among the strongest in the nation, and for July, only Detroit and Minneapolis, among the 20 metropolitan areas Standard & Poor’s tracks for the Case-Shiller, posted stronger monthly returns than Chicago.

Chicago Home Prices – Leading the National Trend

Nationwide, the composite indexes for the Case-Shiller, as with Chicago, were similarly strong:

• From June to July, the 10-City and 20-City Composites rose respective amounts of 1.5 and 1.6 percent, and from July 2011, the composites were up 0.6 and 1.2 percent; altogether, the composites are nearly 8.0 percent higher than the lows of early 2012.
• For the third straight month, all 20 cities measured by both the composites recorded positive monthly changes.
• Sixteen of the 20 cities also posted annual returns, with Phoenix’s home prices rising an incredible 16.6 percent.
• As of July 2012, average home prices in the U.S. are back to their summer 2003 levels in the 20-City Composite and autumn 2003 levels in the 10-City Composite, and from the June/July 2006 peak, the indices have declined by 30 percent.

David M. Blitzer – “Good News About Housing”

David M. Blitzer, the chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said the latest Case-Shiller report is just the latest in what has been a steady stream of good news on the housing market.

“The news on home prices in this report confirm recent good news about housing,” Blitzer said. “Single-family housing starts are well ahead of last year’s pace, existing-home sales are up, the inventory of homes for sale is down and foreclosure activity is slowing. All in all, we are more optimistic about housing.

“Upbeat trends continue,” he said. “For the third time in a row, all 20 cities and both Composites had monthly gains. Stronger housing numbers are a positive factor for other measures including consumer confidence.”