S&P Home Price Index Hits New High

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index [HPI] rose more than expected in August, hitting an all-time high.

National home prices continued to rise in August by 6.1% on an annual basis. This increase was more than expected by the consensus which projected a 5.8% increase.

David Blitzer, S&P Dow Jones Indexes managing director says, “Home price increases appear to be unstoppable…August saw the National Index annual rate tick up to 6.1%; all 20 cities followed in the report were up year-over-year while one, Atlanta, saw the seasonally adjusted monthly number slip 0.2%. Most prices across the rest of the economy are barely moving compared to housing. Over the last year the consumer price index rose 2.2%, driven largely by energy costs. Aside from oil, the only other major item with price gains close to housing was hospital services, which were up 4.6%. Wages climbed 3.6% in the year to August.“

Third-quarter GDP grew by 3%, well above the 2.5% expected by economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters and below the 2.8% in the CNBC/Moody’s Rapid Update. The third-quarter number comes on top of 3.1% growth in the second quarter, making for the best back-to-back quarters since 2014 and ending a long streak of sluggish 2% growth.

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