Miami home prices grow in April, but begin to slow

For the first time this year, Miami’s growing home prices have slowed their ascent.

The metropolitan area saw an 0.9 percent increase in prices from March to April, marking an 0.1 percent drop in growth compared to the previous month.

The figures might seem small, but the rate of increase in February grew 0.4 percent, and again in March by 1 percent, according the S&P Case-Shiller’s Home Prices Indices.

Monthly and year-over-year gains were down compared to March both in the city and throughout the United States.

Miami’s home prices were 8.5 percent higher in April compared to the same month last year, but represented the fourth highest among the top 25 markets in the country. In March, the year-over-year gain was 8.7 percent.

S&P’s David Blitzer

David M. Blitzer, the managing director and chairman of the Index Committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices, wrote in last month’s report that home prices were rebounding, and that a price bubble has not formed.

For April, Blitzer writes that consumers are unsurprised by the growing home prices, and that sales have continued to climb.

“Home prices continue to rise across the country, but the pace is not accelerating,” Blitzer said in the report. “Recent housing data is positive. Sales of new and existing homes are rising in recent reports and construction of new homes enjoyed strong gains in May. At the same time, the proportion of new construction that is apartments rather than single family homes remains high.” — Sean Stewart-Muniz