Homes prices in the Seattle metropolitan area posted solid increases in January, but at a slower pace than in December, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday.
The average price of existing single-family homes sold in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties was up 0.7 percent from December after seasonal fluctuations are taken into account. In December, the average price gain was up 1.4 percent over the previous month.
Over the year, the average Seattle-area home price in January was 6.8 percent higher, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, publisher of the index.
Nationally, home prices posted a 0.9 percent gain in January over the month, the same pace as in December. Over the year, home prices in the 20-city index were up 4.6 percent.
All of the metros in the 20-city index showed gains in home prices over the month and the year.
The San Diego and Portland metros had the steepest monthly increases, 1.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, after seasonal fluctuations are taken into account.
Denver, Miami and Dallas led in annual gains, each posting more than 8 percent increases.
“The combination of low interest rates and strong consumer confidence based on solid job growth, cheap oil and low inflation continue to support further increases in home prices” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices.
But Blitzer suggested the housing market could be headed for a decline.
“Home prices are rising roughly twice as fast as wages, putting pressure on potential home buyers and heightening the risk that any up tick in interest rates could be a major setback.”
Average Seattle area home prices are back to their spring 2006 levels, while the 20-city index is at its autumn 2004 levels. The Seattle area index remains 12 percent below its 2007 peak, the 20-city index about 17 percent off its 2006 peak.
Seattle-based real-estate-data provider Zillow’s home-value index for January showed a similar gain of 0.7 percent over the month and 6.1 percent over the year.
While Case-Shiller’s index is derived from analyzing repeat sales of a subset of homes and includes foreclosure resales, Zillow’s index includes the entire housing stock and doesn’t include resales of foreclosed homes.
The median value — half are above, half are below — in January of all single-family homes in the tri-county Seattle area was $358,200, Zillow reported.
The more moderate pace of monthly home-price increases is further proof that the housing market is returning to health, said Stan Humphries, chief economist of Zillow, the Seattle-based real-estate website.
The market’s growth is “driven by fundamentals like more jobs, higher incomes and improving household formation,” Humphries said in a statement. “This slower appreciation allows buyers and sellers alike to catch their breath, at the same time as confidence among renters grows.”
