House Prices Up for Fourth Straight Month

House prices increased in July, but at slower pace than earlier this year.

House prices were up slightly in July from June, but are down more than 5 percent from a year ago.

The CoreLogic Home Price Index for July indicated that prices increased by 0.8 percent, the fourth month in a row prices were up.

That follows on a report earlier this week from Case-Shiller that house prices were up 3.6 percent in the second quarter of the year (ending in June).

However, prices will probably not continue their month-over-month increases as the year goes on, warned Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

“While July’s numbers remained relatively positive, particularly for non-distressed sales which have been stable, seasonal influences are expected to fade in late summer,” said Fleming. “At that point, the month-over-month growth will most likely turn negative. The slowdown in economic growth and increased uncertainty caused by the recent stock market volatility will continue to exert downward pressure on prices.”

- Courtesy of HousingZone.com