Miami, Tampa top home price hikes

TALLAHASSEE – Miami and Tampa topped other metro areas in home-price increases in August when compared to a year earlier.

According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, the Miami area had a 28.6 percent year-over-year increase, while the Tampa area had a 28 percent increase.

The Charlotte area was third-highest with a 21.3 percent increase. The report, which provides data on 20 metropolitan areas, pointed to a “deceleration” in housing prices. But Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said in a statement that despite the “ongoing deceleration, August’s housing prices remain well above year-ago levels in all 20 cities,” with the largest increases in the Southeast and the South.

“As the Federal Reserve moves interest rates higher, mortgage financing becomes more expensive and housing becomes less affordable,” Lazzara said. “Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, home prices may well continue to decelerate.”