Seattle area home prices rise again in May – Puget Sound Business Journal

Seattle metro area home prices rose 2.6 percent in May, continuing an upward trend that began in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Seattle area home prices were up .6 percent from a year ago. Nationally, home prices fell year over year by .7 percent for the 20 cities covered in the index, which was the best annual change in 18 months.

The Seattle monthly increase outpaced that of the country as a whole, which saw a 2.2 percent increase from April to May.

Spring and early summer typically see an uptick home sales, and the latest figures are not seasonally adjusted.

“We have observed two consecutive months of increasing home prices and overall improvements in monthly and annual returns; however, we need to remember that spring and early summer are seasonally strong buying months so this trend must continue throughout the summer and into the fall,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. “The housing market seems to be stabilizing, but we are definitely in a wait-and-see mode for the next few months.”

via Seattle area home prices rise again in May – Puget Sound Business Journal.