A gauge 
of house prices posted its first monthly gain in three years, providing some comfort to sellers weary from slumping values.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index rose 0.5% in May from the prior month, the first gain since July 2006 and biggest since May of that year. Stabilization of the housing market and a rebound in financial assets may bring an end this quarter to the record slump in household wealth. If it is time for your to list your Charlotte area property for sale, get a home valuation before putting it on the market to see what these new data mean for you and your home.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index was down 17.1% from May 2008, less than projected and the smallest year-over-year drop in nine months. Compared with a month earlier, 14 cities showed price gains. The price figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes. Adjusted for seasonal changes, the index fell 0.2 percent in May, the smallest monthly decline since February 2007. If you’re looking for a bottom, there’s a lot of good stuff here.
The report buttresses other measures that have shown a deceleration in price declines. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said last week that its purchase-only price index was down 5.6% in May from a year earlier, the smallest annual drop in 10 months. The FHFA index is a national measure that tracks houses bought with mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and excludes many of the foreclosure sales and properties bought with non-conventional mortgages. In addition to being limited to 20 areas, the S&P/Case-Shiller report also includes distressed properties and those bought with non-conventional loans such as jumbo mortgages.