Home prices rose in the Phoenix area for the third straight month in August ­ – a sign that the real estate market may well have hit bottom and caught the recovery wind.

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the median price of resold homes in the Phoenix area was up 1.6% in August compared to July.  Prices rose 1.1% in June – the first time they increased since the real estate bubble began to deflate in August 2006.

Source: http://www2.standardandpoors.com/portal/site/sp/en/us/page.topic/indices_csmahp/0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,1,0,0,0,0,0.html

Prices in most of the other markets measured by the Case-Shiller index rose as well, and were up 1% overall.  And that’s a good thing, according to real estate professor Susan Wachter.  “If the increases are consistent across the markets, this is key,” she told the AP. “Then we’re seeing the formation of a bottom.”

Relative affordability – the median price in August was just about the same as in May of 2001 – is driving buyers back into the Phoenix market in huge numbers.  Local economist Elliott Pollack said that the residential real estate sector is “on its way to becoming a positive force in the economy” again.

What do you think?  How have rising home prices affected you?  Click on the “Comments” link below and join the discussion!