U.S. home prices increased 0.2% on an adjusted basis in July compared with June and were up 5% compared with July 2023, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.
While prices nationally reached a new all-time high, home price appreciation decelerated.
Month-over-month, the index’s 20-city and 10-city composites each reported an increase of 0.3%.
Year-over-year, the 10-city composite saw an annual increase of 6.8% while the 20-city composite saw an increase of 5.9%.
Of the 20 cities, New York again reported the highest annual gain, with an 8.8% increase, followed by Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with annual increases of 8.2% and 7.2%, respectively.
Portland, Ore., held the lowest rank for the smallest year-over-year growth, notching the same 0.8% annual increase in July as last month.
“Accounting for seasonality of home purchases, we have witnessed 14 consecutive record highs in our National Index,” says Brian D. Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets. “While the S&P 500 has achieved thirty-nine record highs and the S&P GSCI Gold TR hit thirty-five record highs, housing is following a similar trajectory. The growth has come at a cost, with all but two markets decelerating last month, eight markets seeing monthly declines, and the slowest annual growth nationally in 2024. Overall, the indices continue to grow at a rate that exceeds long-run averages after accounting for inflation.
“We continue to observe out-performance in most low-price tiers in the market on a three- and five-year horizon,” Luke says. “The low-price tier of Tampa was the best performing market nationally with 5-year performance of 88 percent. The New York market was the best market annually, posting a gain of 8.9 percent. New York’s low-tier index, which include home values up to $533,000, helped drive that growth with 10.8 percent annual gains. Over five-years, markets such as New York and Atlanta, saw low price tiered indices outperforming their market by as much as 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
“The relative outperformance of low-price tiered indices has both benefited first time homebuyers as well as made it more difficult to for those looking for a stater home,” Luke continues. “The opposite is happening in California which has the most expensive high-price tiers in the nation, all well over $1 million. The rich are getting richer in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where their high price-tiered indices outperformed on a 1- and 3-year basis.
“Regionally, the Northeast remains the best performing market, with New York the top performer for three-months running, followed by the Midwest region. All markets in the Northeast and Midwest recorded an all-time high. The south reported the slowest gains regionally but includes five of the seven best performing markets since 2020,” Luke adds.
Photo: Max Harlynking