Texas posted both monthly and year-over-year increases in the February Case-Shiller, as the state continued to roll towards a housing recovery.

There news was uniformly for Texas home prices in the latest Case-Shiller report from Standard & Poor’s, with home prices in the state posting both monthly and yearly positive returns.

S&P does not track home prices for Houston specifically, but the data was quite positive for Dallas, which it does track. From January to February (the most recent month of data from S&P), Dallas home prices rose 0.2 percent, defying typical home price declines in the earlier months of the year. Moreover, Dallas home prices were up a solid 7.1 percent from February 2012, the largest yearly increase for Dallas since S&P began tracking the city’s home prices 12 years ago.

National Home Price Scenario Continues to Improve

Nationally, home prices exceeded expectations in the February Case-Shiller:

• From January to February, the 10- and 20-City Composites saw prices increases of 0.4 and 0.3 percent, respectively.
• Yearly, the gains were quite impressive, with home prices rising 8.6 percent for the 10-City Composite and 9.3 percent for the 20-City Composite.
• Overall, home prices of February 2013 were back to their autumn 2003 levels, though peak-to-current declines for the indexes remain in the 29-30 percent range.
• Also, all 20 metropolitan areas saw their home prices rise by yearly measures, and 10 reported double-digit yearly returns.

David M. Blitzer – Home Prices Show “Solid Increases”

David M. Blitzer, the chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said housing continues to defy the broader economic trends and put up strong numbers.

“Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities,” Blitzer said. “The 10- and 20-City Composites recorded their highest annual
growth rates since May 2006; seasonally adjusted monthly data show all 20 cities saw higher prices for two months in a row – the last time that happened was in early 2005.

“Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March,” Blitzer continued, “housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy. The 2013 first quarter GDP report shows that residential investment accelerated from the 2012 fourth quarter and made a positive contribution to growth.”

And that housing market activity is certainly prevalent in Houston’s busiest markets. Maylis Hopewell-Curie, an agent with Bernstein Realty in Houston, said that in Houston, activity is so strong that offers have exceeded asking prices.

“More and more buyers are going over asking price to secure properties, both for sale and for lease, and that multiple offers on attractive properties are becoming very common,” Hopewell-Curie said. “Hence, the importance for buyers to work with a Realtor who can be both fast and very efficient at writing up offers immediately.”