According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, home prices registered the largest gain in over two years, moving up 3.6 percent in the third quarter over Q3 2011. CNNMoney reports the increase was the biggest since the second quarter of 2010 when the homeowner’s tax credit of up to $8,000 ended. A drop in foreclosures to a five-year low, an improving jobs market and record low interest rates have sparked home sales and home building. Dean Baker, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says “We’ll probably do better than inflation for the next few years, and people who have been underwater on their mortgage will get out from that, and build some equity.” Only Chicago and New York of the 20 markets surveyed showed a modest price decline from a year ago. As MHProNews has learned, Phoenix, AZ, which was one of the hardest hit cities following the housing crash, experienced the largest increase, with prices 20.4 percent higher than last year.
