Case-Shiller Home Price Index

Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released April 2015 values for its Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the prices of existing single-family homes in 20 U.S. metro areas. The index in each metropolitan area extends from a base value of 100 in January 2000. For example, Chicago’s April 2015 index value was 129.15 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 29.15 percent appreciation since January 2000 for a typical home in the Chicago market.

• All 20 cities tracked and both composite indices showed positive year-over-year returns in April. In Chicago, the index increased 2.5 percent from 126.05 in April 2014 to 129.15 in April 2015. This growth was lower than that of March 2015, when prices increased 3.3 percent from the previous year.
• Chicago’s April 2015 index level increased by 1.1 percent from the previous month, comparable to the 10-City and 20-City Composite monthly growth rates (1.0% and 1.1%, respectively).
• In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer said, “Home prices continue to rise across the country, but the pace is not accelerating. Recent housing data is positive. Sales of new and existing homes are rising in recent reports and construction of new homes enjoyed strong gains in May. At the same time, the proportion of new construction that is apartments rather than single family homes remains high.”

Source: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

The full press release and additional data can be found on the S&P website.

Note: values reflect non-seasonally adjusted data, which are typically more appropriate for annual comparisons than monthly ones; however, due to heightened volatility in recent housing values that can skew the seasonal adjustments, S&P recommends using the non-seasonally adjusted numbers, even for month-to-month comparisons.

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