Housing News

Home prices creep higher
But the values of US homes aren't as high as expected.
Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 10:49 AM
Prices for U.S. homes rose by 0.3% in July from June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported today, the third monthly gain in a row.

The first-time homebuyer tax credit helped lift prices in July after June prices were revised down to a 0.1% gain from a previously reported 0.5% increase. Economists had expected a 0.5% gain in July home prices.

Prices were down 4.2% from July 2008 and were down 10.5% from the housing market's peak in April 2007. Prices in July were at the same level as March 2005.

Five of nine regions in the U.S. saw price increases, with a 1.6% gain in the Pacific region leading the way. On a year-over-year basis, that region saw prices fall 9%.

The biggest monthly drop was in the East South Central states, which include Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. That region saw prices fall 0.9% in July.

"Mortgage rates have come back down, and demand for homes remains high," Brian Bethune, the chief financial economist of IHS Global Insight, told Bloomberg News. "There are a lot of positives in housing right now."