U.S. home prices continued to shatter records in May, rising 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with April to reach the highest level in history, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index.
The index’s 20-city and 10-city composites increased 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
However, home price appreciation continued to decelerate: Year-over-year home prices were up 5.9%, down from a 6.4% annual gain the previous month.
Year-over-year, the 10-city composite saw an annual increase of 7.7%, down from an 8.1% the previous month, while the 20-city composite saw a year-over-year increase of 6.8%, dropping from a 7.3% the previous month.
New York reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities with a 9.4% increase in May, followed by San Diego and Las Vegas with increases of 9.1% and 8.6%, respectively.
Portland once again held the lowest rank for the smallest year-over-year growth, notching a 1.0% annual increase in May.
“While annual gains have decelerated recently, this may have more to do with 2023 than 2024, as recent performance remains encouraging,” says Brian D. Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets, in a statement. “Our home price index has appreciated 4.1 percent year-to-date, the fastest start in two years. Covering the six-month period dating to when mortgage rates peaked, our national index has risen the past four months, erasing the stall experienced late last year. Collectively, all 20 markets covered continue to trade in a homogeneous pattern. Coming into the 2024 presidential election, traditional red states are in a dead heat with blue states, both averaging 5.9 percent gains annually.
“The Big Apple returned to the top of the leader boards, toppling San Diego from its six-month perch,” Luke adds. “New York’s 9.4 percent annual return outpaced San Diego and Las Vegas, by 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. All 20 markets observed annual gains for the last six months. The last time we saw that long a streak was when all markets rose for three years consecutively during the COVID housing boom. This rally pales in comparison in both duration and annual gains, with above trend growth of 6.2 percent. The waiting game for the possibility of favorable changes in lending rates continues to be costly for potential buyers as home prices march forward.”
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