Home prices climbed 6.8 percent in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area in the 12 months ending in December, exceeding the 20-city composite average that includes Portland-Vancouver.
Home prices climbed 4.6 percent nationwide in the 12 months ending in December, down slightly from the previous month and the slowest pace since 2011, according to the Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices. Its measure of 20 major cities was up 4.5 percent, also the slowest rate since 2011.
This came despite an improving economy toward the end of 2014 and historically low interest rates. Economists with the Case-Shiller survey pointed to fewer people moving and a tight supply of homes on the market as reasons for the continuing slowdown.
“The housing recovery is faltering,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones, which publishes the report that was released Tuesday. “Before the recession, any time housing starts were at their current level … the economy was in a recession.”
The weakness was not general across the country. In metropolitan Los Angeles, prices rose 5.5 percent year over year, and grew 1.1 percent from November to December, once seasonal factors were accounted for. San Francisco led the pack with 9.3 percent growth, and other Western and Southern markets generally performed more strongly than those in the Midwest and Northeast. All 20 cities were in positive territory for the year.
While the slowing price growth may sound alarm bells to some housing watchers, others say it’s a natural and healthy phenomenon after years of a market characterized by big swings up and down. The big question right now, said Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield, is whether more sellers and builders will start to put enough homes on the market to speed up home sales and create more opportunities for people to buy.
“Home prices have entered what appears to be a steady level of appreciation that is not too hot or too cold,” he said. “But the limited supply of homes on the market to choose from may make some buyers feel like they were left out in the cold.”
