Texas Home Prices Remain Positive in New Case-Shiller

by Peter Thomas Ricci

January 27, 2015

Home prices in the Texas area remained right on track in the latest Case-Shiller.

Home prices in the Texas area remained positive as ever in November, with prices in Dallas rising 0.1 percent from October and 7.7 percent from Nov. 2013, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices; that 7.7 percent was good for the third-best in the nation.

Amazingly, the Case-Shiller does not track home prices in Houston, but Dallas’ growth is certainly consistent with the positive trends we’ve witnessed in the Bayou City for several news now.

Case-Shiller in November – A Slowing Marketplace

Nationally, the trends were similar:

The 10-City Composite for the Case-Shiller rose 4.2 percent year-over-year, down from October’s 4.4 percent increase.
The 20-City Composite, meanwhile, rose 4.3 percent, down from 4.5 percent in October.
From October to November, the numbers for both composites were marginally negative, falling 0.3 percent for the 10-City Composite and 0.2 percent for the 20-City.

Blitzer – “Housing Recovery is Barely on First Base”

David Blitzer, the managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, emphasized in his comments that housing still has a ways to go for a full recovery.

“With the spring home buying season, and spring training, still a month or two away, the housing recovery is barely on first base,” Blitzer said. “Prospects for a home run in 2015 aren’t good. Strong price gains are limited to California, Florida, the Pacific Northwest, Denver and Dallas. Most of the rest of the country is lagging the national index gains. Moreover, these price patterns have been in place since last spring. Existing home sales were lower in 2014 than 2013, confirming these trends.”

With inventory remaining low, Blitzer concluded that housing will only grow stronger with the rest of the economy.

“The best hope for housing is the rest of the economy where the news is better,” he said. “2014 was a good year for job creation and weekly unemployment claims – good short term indicators – which continue to provide upbeat reports. Consumer confidence, helped by cheap gasoline prices, is strong, and a good GDP number is expected this week.”