The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices have been released showing the continued increase in home prices across the country.  The CoreLogic, Inc. produced indices show a year-over-year increase of 5.0% in May over all nine U.S. census divisions.  This remained unchanged from the previous month.  The 20-City Composite showed a year-over-year gain of 5.2%, a decrease of 0.2% from April’s 5.4%.  Portland, Seattle, and Denver showed the highest gains over the last four months, with Portland leading the way with a 12.5% year-over-year increase.

In a comment from Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow jones Indices, David M. Blitzer, “Home prices continue to appreciate across the country.”  He continues, “Overall, housing is doing quite well.  In addition to strong prices, sales of existing homes reached the highest monthly level since 2007 as construction of new homes showed continuing gains.  The SCE Housing Expectations Survey published by the New York Federal Reserve Bank shows that consumers expect home prices to continue rising, though at a somewhat slower pace.”

Each month since 2014, Zillow releases their forecast of the Case-Shiller results based on the previous month’s results.  For the month of May, Zillow was spot-on in their estimated increase of 5.0% year-over-year.  The forecast for June 2016 is showing an increase of 5.1% year-over-year, with seasonally adjusted home prices expected to fall for a third month straight.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home Price Indices are designed to be a consistent benchmark of U.S. housing prices.  Based on the research of Robert J. Shiller and Karl E. Case, the Indices measure changes in housing market prices, given a constant home quality level.  This allows tracking of existing single-family housing values in the U.S.