US home prices spiked in July despite a slowdown in sales

Supply is not keeping up with demand

Home for sale in Midwood, Brooklyn (Credit: Corcoran)
Home for sale in Midwood, Brooklyn (Credit: Corcoran)

Residential prices across the country increased in the month of July even though there were fewer sales over the summer, which would normally dampen price gains.

The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index increased 5.9 percent in July from a year earlier, USA Today reported. That’s slightly above the 5.8 annual pace that was recorded in June, according to the newspaper.

A shortage of homes and heavy demand caused bidding wars, which nudged up prices at a faster pace than incomes. Cities like Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas experienced the greatest increases during the month, with prices in Seattle rising 13.5 percent year-over-year.

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In Manhattan, the median price of an apartment was $1.2 million during the last quarter, according to data from appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

Meanwhile, the number of resale homes on the market fell 6.5 percent in the same month.

In July, overall U.S. housing starts dropped for the fourth time in five months, according to Commerce Department data released earlier this month. It shows that construction of multifamily buildings is slowing down across the country, despite the rising demand for rental apartments. [USA Today]Miriam Hall