U.S. home prices continued to rise in October – driven mostly by gains in the Northeast – but the rate of appreciation slowed significantly.
According to CoreLogic’s home price index report, home prices nationwide increased 0.2% compared with September and were up 4.7% compared with October 2022.
October marked the 141st straight month of annual appreciation.
But the rate of appreciation is slowing: CoreLogic forecasts that annual home price growth will relax to 2.9% by October 2024.
“Home price growth maintained its upward momentum in October, which continues to reflect gains from the strong spring season and contrasts with last year’s home price declines,” says Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a statement. “But even with high mortgage rates, October’s price gains line up with historical trends and speak to the strength of some potential buyers’ purchasing power, as they continue to outnumber available homes for sale. Metros that are seeing relatively stronger price gains are those with higher job growth, as well as those with an influx of higher-income, in-migrating households.”
In October, Miami posted the highest annual gain among the major cities, at 8.8%. It was followed by Detroit at 7.7% and St. Louis at 7.6%.
The top three states with the highest annual appreciation in October included Connecticut at 10.3%, Maine at 9.3% and New Hampshire at 9.3%.
CoreLogic notes that the Northeast could be enjoying renewed home price gains in part due to a largely hybrid American workforce, in which employees need to be relatively close to major urban areas to allow for commutes to the office a few times per week.