After some strong summer months, Metro Atlanta home prices remained strong as ever in the fall, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s.

From August to September, Metro Atlanta prices were up 0.2 percent, while year-over-year, prices were up 5.3 percent, both of which blew past the national averages.

Home prices in the Case-Shiller

The situation was a bit different for the Case-Shiller’s national indices:

• The National Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, set a new record in September with a 5.5-percent annual gain; the previous peak for the index was July 2006.
• The 10- and 20-City Composites, meanwhile, posted year-over-year gains of 4.3 and 5.1 percent, respectively.
• Month-to-month, the National Index was up 0.4 percent, while the 10- and 20-City Composites both rose 0.1 percent. Interestingly, when seasonal adjustments are factored in, the National Index’s increase jumps to 0.8 percent, while the 10- and 20-City Composites jump to 0.2 and 0.4 percent, respectively.

“Start of a new advance” for housing

David M. Blitzer, the managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, was optimistic in his comments accompanying the Case-Shiller reports, though he tempered that with the realities of some markets.

“The new peak set by the S&P Case-Shiller CoreLogic National Index will be seen as marking a shift from the housing recovery to the hoped-for start of a new advance” Blitzer said. “ While seven of the 20 cities previously reached new post-recession peaks, those that experienced the biggest booms – Miami, Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas – remain well below their all-time highs.”