The single-family home price appreciation in the United States slowed to the weakest level in more than two years in the month of November as tight lending standards and lean inventories restricted the market activity in the housing sector, as per the report of a closely watched survey released on Tuesday.
The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas increased 4.3 percent in the month of November from the previous year, the slowest level since October 2012. The figures, however, matched the expectations of the analysts.
David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said, “With the spring home buying season, and spring training, still a month or two away, the housing recovery is barely on first base. Prospects for a home run this year aren’t good.”
The home price growth rate in Cleveland over 12 months was the weakest among the 20 metropolitan cities studied by S&P/Case-Shiller at 0.6 percent in November.
Comparatively, San Francisco and Miami continued to lead all the metropolitan cities, posting 12-month gains of 8.9 percent and 8.6 percent respectively.
On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted home price index of S&P/Case-Shiller on 20 metropolitan cities increased 0.7 percent. The analysts had predicted 0.6 percent rise.
When the seasonal adjustments were excluded, the home prices in the 20 cities dropped 0.2 percent.
A broader measure of the market activity in the national housing sector increased at a 4.7 percent clip on a year-over-year basis in comparison to a 4.6 percent rate in October.
The seasonally adjusted 10-city gauge increased 0.7 percent in the month of November following a revised gain of 0.6 percent in the month of October. On the other hand, the non-adjusted 10-city index dropped 0.3 percent after a 0.2 percent decline in October.
