Home Prices Increase Month over Month

Home prices increased in April from March according to the most recent release of the Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index. Prices for April increased 1.3%, with 19 of the 20 cities in the index showing gains. Only Detroit showed a decrease in prices. Year-over-year, prices remain down 1.9%, though this is up from the March year-over-year prices which were down 2.9%.

The Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes use the repeat sales method for index calculation, analyzing data on single-family properties that have two or more recorded sales transactions. Changes in housing types and sizes, or changes in the physical characteristics, of houses are specifically excluded from the calculations to avoid incorrectly affecting the index value. Home sales pairs are accumulated in rolling three-month periods to offset any delays in sales data recording and to keep sample sizes large enough to create accurate price change averages.