Home values in South Florida jumped 16 percent in February from a year earlier, according to the latest numbers from S&P/Case-Shiller.
The Miami index, spanning Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, posted the sixth biggest year-over-year gains among 20 major metropolitan markets tracked in the closely watched report.
The 20-city composite showed nationwide home prices rose 12.9 percent in the 12 months ended in February.
South Florida prices were off 0.2 percent in February from January levels on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a flattening that signals Miami prices, too, are slowing down.
In January, home prices in South Florida rose 16.5 percent from a year earlier.
“Five years into the recovery from the recession, the economy will need to look to gains in consumer spending and business investment more than housing,’’ David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. “Long overdue activity in residential construction would be welcome, but is certainly not assured.”
The S&P/Case-Shiller indices use resales of properties that have sold at least twice, aiming to show accurate increases and decreases in value. The reports lags the market by two months.
