Home Prices Jump 5.5% as Spring Season Nears

Home prices rose 5.5% in the 12 months ending last November, a strong showing following a 4.3% year-over-year increase reading the month before, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The gain was nationwide, with 19 of the 20 cities tracked in the index showing year-over-year price gains. Leaders were Phoenix (up 22.%); San Francisco (up 12.7%), Detroit (up 11.9%); Minneapolis (up 11.1%); and Las Vegas (up 10%). The only metropolitan area to show a year-over-year decline was New York, down 1.2%. “Housing is clearly recovering,” said David M. Blitzer, chair of the index committee that releases the data, in a statement accompanying the data. (MORE: What Ever Happened to That Big, Bad ‘Shadow Inventory’ of Homes?) However, now that spring — traditionally the kickoff for the annual home selling season — is around the corner, the larger q...