San Diego County leads national home index

By Roger Showley, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 11:33 a.m.

San Diego County home prices improved the most among 20 top metro areas in February, the widely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed Tuesday.

The index, which tracks resale prices on the same properties back to 1988, rose .6 percent for San Diego from January to February. This was the only area to show a month-to-month improvement. On a year-over-year basis, San Francisco ranked first, up 11.9 percent, followed by San Diego, up 7.6 percent, and Los Angeles, up 5.3 percent. The figures reflect a three-month rolling average to smooth out month-to-month variations.

Nationally, the S&P index was down .9 percent from January to February, but up .6 percent from February 2009. It was the first month since December 2006 that the 20-metro index was up year-over-year, even though 11 of the 20 cities were down. The national index peaked in September 2006 and hit bottom last April.

San Diego prices, as measured by S&P, are now back to where they were in October 2008 as the market was deteriorating and April 2003 as it was rising. The latest index number was 157.92 in February, meaning prices are up nearly 58 percent from 2000, when the index was set at 100. The index rose to a peak 250.34 in November 2005 before falling to a low of 144.43 last April. In other words, San Diego prices are down 36.9 percent from the peak but up 9.3 percent from the trough.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, San Diego’s prices rose even faster — up .8 percent from January to February, again the highest of any metro area. February also marked the 10th consecutive month for month-to-month increases and the fourth straight month for year-over-year rises.

David Blitzer, S&P index committee chairman, said the home price increases might reflect increased buying activity, prompted by the federal homebuyer tax credit that expires Friday. In California, however, a similar credit begins next week.

“Amidst all the news, however, we should also pay heed to foreclosure activity, which has reached its highest level in at least the last five years,â€