US property price survey suggests modest growth
AMERICAN single-family home prices rose more than expected in May, reflecting robust spring sales spurred by homebuyer tax credits, a home price survey showed yesterday.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index showed prices in the biggest US cities had risen 4.6 per cent in May from the same month last year.
Only Las Vegas registered a monthly decline, of 6.5 per cent.
However, the rise follows months of lacklustre gains and the survey’s authors warned that the recovery is not yet concrete.
“While May’s report on its own looks somewhat positive, a broader look at home price levels over the past year still does not indicate that the housing market is in any form of sustained recovery,” said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee. “Since reaching its recent trough in April 2009, the housing market has really only stabilised at this lower level.”