San Diego-area home prices posted a small monthly rise in the latest report Tuesday from the widely-followed Case-Shiller index, but are up only 2.8% over the past year.
Local home prices rose 0.1% from August to September following a decline of 0.2% between July and August. The trend over the past 12 months has been mixed, with ups and downs locally and a slowing in growth nationally.
“September’s report for the U.S. housing market is reassuring,” says Craig J. Lazzara, managing director of S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The national composite index rose 3.2% relative to year-ago levels.”
“It is, of course, too soon to say whether this month marks an end to the deceleration or is merely a pause in the longer-term trend,” he added.
Phoenix, Charlotte and Tampa reported the highest year-over-year gains among the largest U.S. metro areas. In September, Phoenix led the way with a 6.0% year-over-year price increase, followed by Charlotte with a 4.6% increase and Tampa with a 4.5% increase.
While San Diego trailed the nation, price appreciation was more robust than in other West Coast metros. The Case-Shiller index showed year-over-year increases of 1.7% in Los Angles, 2.7% in Portland and 1.7% in Seattle, while prices actually declined by 0.7% in San Francisco.