Home prices across the country showed an annual gain of 5 percent in April, a slight decrease from its annual gain of 5.1 percent in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
This is the sixth consecutive month the National Index rose by 5 percent or more, said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement.
The 10-City Composite reported an annual gain of 4.7 percent in April, compared with a 4.8 percent increase in March. The 20-City Composite recorded a year-over-year increase of 5.4 percent, compared with 5.5 percent in March.
Portland, Seattle and Denver had the highest annual gains, increasing 12.3 percent, 10.7 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.
Month-over-month, the National Index gained 0.1 percent, the 10-City Composite gained 0.3 percent and the 20-City Composite grew 0.5 percent in April.
“The home price increases reflect the low unemployment rate, low mortgage interest rates, and consumers’ generally positive outlook,” Blitzer said.
He added, however, that the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union and the U.S. elections in the fall will distract home buyers and investors in the coming months, and the future outlook is uncertain.
