Friday, April 2, 2010

CASE-SHILLER REPORTS DENVER HOME PRICES UP FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE MONTH

For the third month in a row, Denver-area home prices showed a year-over-year increase in January, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Prices Index.

Out of 20 U.S. cities in the closely watched report from Standard & Poor’s, released Tuesday, Denver was one of nine that showed a year-over-year increase in prices.

Denver-area home prices were 2.6 percent higher in January 2010 than in January 2009. That followed a 1.2 percent year-over-year increase in December and a 0.5 percent gain in November.

But again, these price increases are all being driven by activity at the lower levels of the market, which is being propelled by the two tax credits and the high number of first-time buyers entering the market.  A home at $150,000 may have appreciated by 8 to 10% in the past year, while a home at $500,000 may have depreciated by the same percentage.  Condos have performed poorly at all levels.  Put it all together, and you have Case-Shiller numbers showing a 2.6% gain.

Denver’s overall home price index was 125.59 in January, meaning that a typical home in the area was worth nearly 26 percent more than in January 2000, which is the index’s base year.