Metro Atlanta home prices mirrored the slight cooling off seen nationwide in the month of October, a closely-watched index of home prices reported Tuesday.
Home prices in the Atlanta region dipped a minuscule 0.2 percent in October compared to the previous month, matching the rate of decline reported nationally by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The metro Atlanta decline was only slightly greater than the 0.1 percent dip reported in the indices’ benchmark 20-city composite.
But, on an annual basis, home prices in metro Atlanta are up 4.5 percent, in line with the 4.5 percent gain reported in the 20-city composite and 4.6 percent annual increase in national home prices, the report said.
The report tracks existing home sales and is a closely followed barometer of health for the regional and national single-family home sales.
The October report was a mixed-bag nationally. Ten metro areas in the report’s 20-city index reported monthly price increases, while eight showed slight declines and two were flat, the report said.
Miami and San Francisco — 9.5 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively — saw the greatest gains in October vs. the same month in 2013.
“After a long period when home prices rose, but at a slower pace with each passing month, we are seeing hints that prices could end 2014 on a strong note and accelerate into 2015,” David M.Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a news release.
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