Home prices jump in 20 major U.S. cities
U.S. home prices are rising sharply, new data indicate, helping to cement a growing consensus that the real estate slump is over.
But with jobs and the economy growing at a decidedly sluggish pace, experts caution that the housing market is not likely to sustain a sharp upward trajectory and give a major boost to the overall economy.
The closely watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index for the nation's 20 largest cities posted its first year-over-year increase, at 0.5%, since 2010, June data released Tuesday showed.
The annual improvement in the 20-city index was particularly significant given that the last time the measure posted such a gain, sales were being juiced by popular government tax credits. When that aid expired, prices collapsed and produced a troublesome "double-dip."
http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-home-prices-20120829,0,5253296.story