Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released June 2016 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 June 2016 index value was 136.22 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 36.22 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 Chicago, the index increased 3.31 percent from 131.85 in June 2015 to 136.22 in June 2016 (about the same as last month’s YOY growth rate of 3.28 percent).
• Chicago’s June 2016 home price level also increased by 1.09 percent from the previous month, outpacing the 10-City and 20-City Composites’ respective 0.75 percent and 0.82 percent growth rates.
• In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Managing Director and Chairman David M. Blitzer described home sales and inventory levels indicative of a “fairly tight” residential market, and observed that, “Nationally, home prices have risen at a consistent 4.8% annual pace over the last two years without showing any signs of slowing.”

The following charts illustrate home price comparison and trends.

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

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