Alacazam! Home Values Soar 5 Percent - Or Not

(MoneyWatch)  Is your home worth 5 percent more today than last month? According to Clear Capital, the Truckee, Calif.-based provider of data and solutions for real estate asset valuation, investment and risk assessment, home prices soared an average of 5 percent over the past month, with some regions doing better than others:

• The Midwest posted the strongest gains with home prices rising 11.2 percent;
• The South rose 5.3 percent;
• The Northeast rose 2.4 percent;
• The West region rose 1.1 percent.

On the micro market level, individual zip codes the greater Phoenix area showed some signs of life. The market in Sun Lakes (zip code 85248) fell just 15.2 percent, compared to 41.3 percent for the Phoenix metro area, and was up 1.2 percent for the quarter.

But not everyone agrees with Clear Capital's rosy picture. Next week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases its numbers. Walter Mahoney, NAR's longtime spokesperson, said the Clear Capital numbers were optimistic, and said that NAR's own home price numbers show improvement, but "nowhere near 5 percent."

"All the housing measurements have various strengths and weaknesses. They report the median price over time, and the median can be skewed because there are so many distressed properties are being sold at a discount now, many more than a year ago," Mahoney said. "You're comparing apples to oranges."

So, my home isn't worth 5 percent more this month? Bummer.



Read More:
Are Home Prices Going Up or Down? Place Your Bets Here
What's My Home Worth?