Home Price Gains Accelerate in August

Monthly home price appreciation gained steam in August even as a growing number of markets reported declines, according to FNC, Inc.

The company's Residential Price Index (RPI) posted national growth of 0.8 percent in August, accelerating from July's 0.6 percent increase.

FNC's 30-city composite index increased 0.9 percent month-to-month, while the 10-city composite nearly tripled its rate of appreciation to 1.1 percent.

On a yearly basis, growth at the national level came to 7.5 percent, unchanged from July and down half a percentage point from June. Annual price growth has been on a downward trend since last fall.

Again, the narrower composites performed slightly better, with the 30-city composite climbing 8.2 percent year-over-year and the 10-city index rising 8.8 percent. Both increased at higher rates than in July.

Not all cities saw an acceleration, however. According to FNC, prices were up month-over-month in 22 of the 30 markets tracked in its 30-city composite index compared to 25 cities in July. Gains were led by Cleveland and Los Angeles, which each posted increases of 2.6 percent, followed by Dallas at 2.5 percent.

A number of other California markets struggled: For the first time since the recovery took hold in February 2012, home prices in San Francisco fell on a monthly basis, dropping 2.1 percent. Prices also dipped in Sacramento and Riverside, slipping 2.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

On a year-to-year basis, only two cities posted price declines: Cincinnati and St. Louis, with depreciation rates of 1.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, one-third of markets tracked continue to see double-digit gains—including Riverside, San Francisco, and Sacramento, FNC reported.