For the first time since the recession of 2008, home prices seem to be improving to a state better than they were before the housing market crash.
Frequently an overlooked index for the first-time home buyer, the S&P Case Shiller Index is a valuable source to determine price-growth trends and home value. It shows the price index of 20 major metropolitan cities across the nation (including Seattle and Portland) and is revealing a trend of slowing price growth. This could be a necessary respite of calm to home buyers avidly searching the market.
In February of this year, it was reported that Clark County is a balanced market, having an equal amount of buyers and sellers in the market. The S&P Case Shiller Index has a baseline of 100 — or the full amount originally paid for the house. The index has also been indicating for the past two decades that there has been consistent growth in home value — so if your house returns an index of 125, it is worth 25 percent more than what you originally paid for. The value of homes is going up and a slowing of price growth is occurring simultaneously — all-around good news for the first-time home buyer.
