U.S. Home Prices Rise More Quickly Than Expected in July

According to a report on Bloomberg.com, housing prices increased more than was forecasted in July. In year-over-year growth, the figures increased, showing a spur in economic growth.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values across 20 different cities in the nation has increased 1.2 percent from July 2011, the largest in a 12-month period since August 2010, said the report.

“We’re finally seeing a more sustained and broad-based improvement in home prices,” said Millan Mulraine, senior U.S. strategist for TD Securities in New York, in the Bloomberg article. “The housing sector has made an important turn here, and that is being sustained.”

In Upper Dublin Township, even steeper growth has been seen since 2011. In the past year, the prices of homes in the 19002 zip code, which covers the Ambler and Maple Glen sections of the township, has shot up from an average cost of $275,000 in th first quarter of 2011 to a current median value of $435,583, according to statistics on City Data.com.

The data shows a similar trend in other parts of the township, as well.  In the 19034 zip code, which covers Fort Washington, in the first quarter of 2011, the average home sales price was $250,000 to a current median home value of $445,324. In the 19075 zip code, which covers the Oreland section of the township, the median home sales price in the first quarter was $250,000, and has increased to a current median home value of $351,060.

In the North Hills section of the township, the median home sales price in the first quarter of 2011 was approximately $225,000, and has increased to a current estimated home value of $293,270.

However, in the 19025 zip code, which is the Dresher and Jarrettown sections of the township, had a median sales price of $325,000 in the first quarter of 2011, to a current estimated median home value of $324,315.

The township has an average home value much higher than the state's overall average, which as of 2008, was $164,700. Across Upper Dublin Township, the median residential home price in 2002 was $260,050.

The national trend is spurring optimism about the nation's economy. 

“All in all, we are more optimistic about housing,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement to Bloomberg.com. “Stronger housing numbers are a positive factor for other measures including consumer confidence.”