Home prices in the U.S. saw a very slight rise — 0.5 percent — in October versus the previous month, according to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But compared to October of last year, prices were up 8.2 percent.
The numbers met the projections of 11 economists surveyed nationwide, and the climb was attributed to an increase in investors nabbing properties, tightening the inventory levels, and fewer distressed houses being available.
“What we’re seeing now is more of a normalization,” Mark Vitner, a Wells Fargo senior economist, told Bloomberg News. “Investors are leaving the market, traditional buyers are coming back and price appreciation is returning to a more normal pace.” [Bloomberg News] — Mark Maurer