Released February 16, the FNC Residential Price Index reported that home prices in December posted a modest monthly increase at the close of the year.
Nationwide, home prices in December 2015 represented a 0.4 percent uptick from the seasonally adjusted rate in November and a 6.2 percent increase on an annual basis.
National home prices increased 6 percent annually in the fourth quarter of 2015.
“Riding on a robust pace of home sales and new housing starts, home prices in 2015 finished strong with year-over-year growth at a 15-month high since October 2014. If judging on a seasonal basis, December’s month-over-month increase outpaced the same period of the past three years,” said Yanling Mayer, FNC’s housing economist and director of research, in a statement.
Some surprising metros saw the highest month-over-month gains.
- Baltimore, increase of 2.6 percent
- St. Louis, increase of 2.6 percent
- Las Vegas, increase of 2.1 percent
- Portland, increase of 2 percent
- Houston, increase of 1.7 percent
In December 2015, some cities posted year-over-year gains in the double digits:
- Portland, increase of 14.2 percent
- Denver, increase of 13 percent
- San Francisco, increase of 12.6 percent
- Las Vegas, increase of 11.9 percent
- Miami, increase of 11.5 percent
- Sacramento, increase of 11.5 percent
- Phoenix, increase of 11.2 percent
- Cincinnati, increase of 10.1 percent
In San Francisco, home prices fell 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in December 2015. Annually, San Francisco prices rose 12.6 percent.
Despite San Francisco home values falling on a monthly basis, the strong annual uptick shows its unlikely the fall is worth worrying about.
