Home-price gains in the Charlotte area again tracked above the national average in February, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices’ report.
Prices rose 6.1% year over year, outpacing the 5.8% increase recorded for all nine U.S. census divisions — a 32-month high, according to the Case-Shiller data, released Tuesday. That gain for metro Charlotte was also slightly higher than the 6% increase posted in January.
“Other housing indicators are also advancing, but not accelerating the way prices are,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement. “As per National Association of Realtors sales of existing homes were up 5.6% in the year (that) ended in March. There are still relatively few existing homes listed for sale and the small 3.8-month supply is supporting the recent price increases. Housing affordability has declined since 2012 as the pressure of higher prices has been a larger factor than stable to lower mortgage rates.”
In the Charlotte region, housing inventory was holding at a 2.4-month supply by the end of March. Only about 9,200 houses were listed for sale then — a 20.3% drop from the previous year, according to the most recent figures from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association.
Local home sales were up 11.5% last month.
Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite saw a 5.9% increase in prices in February, while the 10-city measure rose 5.2%. Both were up from January and the previous year.
Seattle posted the highest increase in home prices, at 12.2%, followed by Portland (9.7%) and Dallas (8.8%). Denver dropped out of the top three for the first time in months. Meanwhile, New York’s 3.2% bump in home prices was the lowest.
Charlotte’s annual price gain fell near the middle of the markets covered by Case-Shiller. Twelve metro areas, including Tampa, Fla., Miami, San Francisco and Las Vegas, had higher increases. Seven metros, such as Atlanta and Washington, D.C., saw smaller gains.
Jenna Martin
CBJ