Cotality

Home Prices Tick Up as Shadow Inventory Declines 

Two new reports on the housing market show that sales of existing homes experienced a fourth consecutive month of growth, due mainly to seasonal strength, as the shadow inventory of distressed properties declined by 15.7%.   U.S. home prices increased by 0.9% in July in both the 10 and 20-city composites of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices with data through July 2011.  Of the 20 MSA's tracked in the survey, 17 experienced positive month-over-month increases in July, with only Last Vegas and Phoenix seeing declines, as Denver remained static.     On an annual basis, both the 10- and