The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was out earlier this week. It was very newsworthy because it showed a second consecutive quarterly increase in home prices of 2.9% Q2 over Q1. It is the first consecutive quarterly increase in the index in years and, hopefully, will be a consumer confidence builder.
The news is not so good for our survey of great retirement cities at GreatPlacesToRetire.com. Our 99 great towns and cities across the U.S. are down 3.4% for the same period, Q2 compared to Q1. This includes double-digit dips for such high profile towns as Sedona, Boca Raton, Newport Beach, Vail, Monterey and Southampton.
We also now have July closings in our database. This data does show a positive turn, up 0.8% over June. Our index may not yet be newsworthy but this gives us our first month over month increase in a long time. However, home prices in 50% of our towns continued down in July, including significant monthly drops in Vail, Monterey, Aspen, Hilton Head, Half Moon Bay, Reno, Annapolis and Williamsburg.
Noone knows if we have hit bottom. And there is no use in trying to predict it. Get out there and find your great place by the lake, the shore or the alma mater. There are deals to be made.
GreatPlacesToRetire.com provides MLS links and the latest city data on home sales prices, air quality, water quality, medical care, recreation, crime and more for 99 top retirement cities and towns in the nation. Use GreatPlacesToRetire.com to help you make an informed decision for that retirement home, second home or vacation home acquisition.
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