Housing Market Index Rises

The S&P Case-Shiller home price index reported last Tuesday that home prices showed broad price gains nationwide. Prices overall were up 0.9% after seasonal adjustments for the 4th straight month. This was also was one of the largest monthly increases in almost 3 years. The index tracks over 20 major US cities.

Home prices were down 0.7% from a year ago, as compared to a 4.1% decline from the end of 2011.Cities seeing the biggest gains over the last year were Phoenix (11.5%), Minneapolis (3.8%), and Denver (3.7%). Cities seeing the biggest declines were Atlanta (14.5%), Las Vegas (-3.2%) and Chicago (-3%).

Overall, 12 of the 20 metro areas saw price increases, which is a significant improvement from last January, when all metro areas were down over the last year.The low end of the market saw the greatest improvement. Even some high end market saw improvements. In Miami, prices have risen due to the influx of foreign investors.

Mortgage Rates

According to the Freddie Mac survey, average mortgage rates increased for the first time in 13 weeks for the week ending Thursday, August 2, 2012.  The average 30 year mortgage increased slightly from 3.49% to 3.55%, and the average 15 year mortgage increased from 2.80% to 2.83%.

Mortgage rates one year ago were 4.39% and 3.54 for the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages.

Snapshot of the Malden Real Estate Market

 Source: MLS Property Information Network

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