U.S. home prices increased 0.3% on an adjusted basis in February compared with January and were up 3.9% compared with February 2024, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.
The index’s 10-city and 20-city composites, measuring home price growth in the 20 largest U.S. cities, posted month-over-month increases of 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
Year-over-year, the 10-city composite saw an annual increase of 5.2%, while the 20-city composite posted a year-over-year increase of 4.5%.
New York again reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities with a 7.7% increase in February, followed by Chicago and Cleveland with annual increases of 7.0% and 6.6%, respectively. Tampa posted the lowest return, falling 1.5%.
“Even with mortgage rates remaining in the mid-6-percent range and affordability challenges lingering, home prices have shown notable resilience,” says Nicholas Godec, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Buyer demand has certainly cooled compared to the frenzied pace of prior years, but limited housing supply continues to underpin prices in most markets. Rather than broad declines, we are seeing a slower, more sustainable pace of price growth.”
Much of the annual appreciation was front-loaded into the first half of the period, while the second half reflected a flatter performance, highlighting the broader cooling trend, according to the report.
Photo: Matthieu Joannon