In September, home prices rose for the sixth consecutive month, with the S&P Dow Jones Indices' S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices 10- and 20-city composites showing annual returns of 2.1 percent and 3.0, respectively. Average home prices in the 10- and 20-city composites were each up by 0.3 percent in September versus August 2012.
Of the 20 metropolitan areas surveyed, 17 posted better annual returns in September versus August 2012, while Detroit and Washington, D.C., declined slightly in their annual rates, and New York saw no change. Measured from their peaks in June/July 2006, the decline for both composites is approximately 29 percent through September 2012.
"With six months of consistently rising home prices, it is safe to say that we are now in the midst of a recovery in the housing market," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
