The recent release of the much watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index had good news for the Atlanta real estate market. The most recent report, which included the results for all of 2012, shows that the local area experienced a 9.9 percent increase in home prices.

This is in contrast to the national composite increase of 7.3 percent. David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices stated “Atlanta and Detroit posted their biggest year-over-year increases of 9.9 percent and 13.6 percent since the start of their indices in 1991.”

The 20 major markets included in the report and their change in values in 2012 are:

• Atlanta – 9.9 percent
• Boston – 3.6 percent
• Charlotte – 5.3 percent
• Chicago – 2.2 percent
• Cleveland – 2.9 percent
• Dallas – 6.5 percent
• Denver – 8.5 percent
• Detroit – 13.6 percent
• Las Vegas – 12.9 percent
• Los Angeles – 10.2 percent
• Miami – 10.6 percent
• Minneapolis -12.2 percent
• New York- (.5) percent decrease
• Phoenix – 23.0 percent
• Portland – 6.5 percent
• San Diego – 9.2 percent
• San Francisco – 14.4 percent
• Seattle – 8.2 percent
• Tampa – 7.2 percent
• Washington – 5.8 percent

Additionally, it was reported that Atlanta saw an increase of 0.3 percent month over month from November to December 2012 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices has been published since early 2006. It is constructed to accurately track the price path of typical single-family homes in each of the metropolitan areas covered.