Home Prices Keep Soaring

A new report on CNN money today, July 30, 2013, confirms what I and my fellow realtors have been saying for a year now: The housing market is coming back very strong, with prices increasing every month for the past 12 months. Some cities are now seeing prices as high or higher than before the "bubble" of 2007.

Prices in the Chicago area are definitely up, as they are nationwide. If you've been waiting to sell your home, now may be the time. If you'd like to see what your home is worth today, I'll be happy to run some comps for you. Call me at 630-697-4500. Adam

Read what CNN has to say:

Home Prices Keep Soaring

By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney July 30, 2013: 9:28 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Home prices continued to gain steam in May according to a closely-watched reading, even as mortgage rates climbed.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index was up 12.2% compared to a year ago, slightly better than the 12.1% rise in April. It was the biggest year-over-year jump in prices since March 2006, near the peak of the housing bubble.

Just a year ago, the index showed a 12-month decline in prices. But they have increased every month since June 2012, and each month the increase has been greater than the month before.

Home values have been rising due to a combination of factors, including a drop in foreclosures that had been putting downward pressure on prices, and a tight supply of houses available for sale. But the record low mortgage rates of earlier this year have risen significantly since then, crimping the purchasing power of potential home buyers.

Still, at least in this May reading, the mortgage rates have not slowed the rapid increase in prices.

Related: 5 things to know about rising mortgage rates

"Home prices continue to strengthen," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. All 20 markets measured in the index have higher prices than they did in April. And two cities - Dallas and Denver -- now have prices that are even higher than they were at the height of the bubble.

Home recovery spurs renovation boom

Many of the markets with the biggest year-over-year changes in prices are those that were hit hardest by the collapse of housing. Prices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta are all up more than 20% from a year ago. New York had the most modest rise with a 3.3% increase.

But the rapid price gains over the last year are at a level that no expert thinks can be sustained. Some had even suggested it was unhealthy for the market, raising the risk of a new housing bubble, at least in some regions. The rapid rise of housing prices in the middle of the decade eventually sparked the crisis in the financial markets and the Great Recession.

Just a year ago, the index showed a 12-month decline in prices. But they have increased every month since June 2012, and each month the increase has been greater than the month before.

Home values have been rising due to a combination of factors, including a drop in foreclosures that had been putting downward pressure on prices, and a tight supply of houses available for sale. But the record low mortgage rates of earlier this year have risen significantly since then, crimping the purchasing power of potential home buyers.

Still, at least in this May reading, the mortgage rates have not slowed the rapid increase in prices.

Related: 5 things to know about rising mortgage rates

"Home prices continue to strengthen," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. All 20 markets measured in the index have higher prices than they did in April. And two cities - Dallas and Denver -- now have prices that are even higher than they were at the height of the bubble.

Home recovery spurs renovation boom

Many of the markets with the biggest year-over-year changes in prices are those that were hit hardest by the collapse of housing. Prices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta are all up more than 20% from a year ago. New York had the most modest rise with a 3.3% increase.

But the rapid price gains over the last year are at a level that no expert thinks can be sustained. Some had even suggested it was unhealthy for the market, raising the risk of a new housing bubble, at least in some regions. The rapid rise of housing prices in the middle of the decade eventually sparked the crisis in the financial markets and the Great Recession.

June Home Sales: Woodridge Experiences Slight Increase in Prices, Sales

Posted in the Woodridge Patch by Mary Ann Lopez (Editor), July 16, 2013

Year-over-year, sales and prices increased slightly in Woodridge, while sales in DuPage County are up about 17 percent, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors.

The 28 single, detached homes sold in Woodridge during June 2013 represented a 7.7 percent increase over June 2012, when 26 homes were sold, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe). There were 30 homes sold in Woodridge during May.

As the number of homes sold increased slightly in Woodridge, the median home price also experienced some growth. The median price increased 4.3 percent to $242,500 from $232,500 in June 2012, according to the statistics.

Sales of single-family, detached homes in suburban Chicago increased 17.1 percent in June 2013 compared with the same period a year ago, MORe reported. Sales in the 200 communities MORe gathers information on in DuPage, Lake and suburban Cook counties – experienced notable sales gains last month.

Sales momentum is expected to continue in those communities, as the number of detached homes under contract in June grew by 36.5 percent in those same communities, according to MORe. The median sale price for detached homes also increased 9.5 percent from the previous June, and according to MORe this marks the fourth month in a row of year-over-year price growth.

In DuPage County, Clarendon Hills experienced the most significant increase in sales over the same period last year. Several Patch communities in DuPage County experienced a decline in the median sales price during June, but Downers Grove saw the largest decrease in price. Sales prices dropped -13.7 percent with sales prices declining from $355,000 in June 2012 to $306,500 in June 2013, according to the statistics.

Darien experienced the most significant decline in the number of homes sold, dropping -18.2 percent from June 2012.

Buyers should look to act soon if they are interested in buying so they lock in today’s low interest rates, said Tonya Corder, president of MORe and managing broker of Keller Williams Preferred Realty in Orland Park.

“A slow and steady growth in home prices, combined with more properties coming on the market, is creating ideal conditions for both buyers and sellers,” she said.