Data released today shows home price gains improved in July both annually and month-over-month.
Year-over-year, prices rose 1% after not moving at all the month prior, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index.
Prices were up 0.6% month-over-month, both before and after seasonal adjustment. This is the sixth consecutive month of increases.
Home prices are now at all-time highs in half the cities analyzed, and prices rose in all 20 cities after seasonal adjustment (19 of them before adjustment, as well). The National Composite surpassed its previous record high with this data.
Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, noted that regional differences remain “striking.”
“On a year-over-year basis, the Revenge of the Rust Belt continues. The three best-performing metropolitan areas in July were Chicago (+4.4%), Cleveland (+4.0%), and New York (+3.8%), repeating the ranking we saw in May and June,” he noted.
“The bottom of the leader board reshuffled somewhat, with Las Vegas (-7.2%) and Phoenix (-6.6%) this month’s worst performers.”
Strong jobs markets and relative affordability make the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic attractive to cost-sensitive buyers, pulling them away from pricey areas that were hot in the last few years.
“On a year-to-date basis, the National Composite has risen 5.3%, which is well above the median full calendar year increase in more than 35 years of data,” Lazzara added.
“Although the market’s gains could be truncated by increases in mortgage rates or by general economic weakness, the breadth and strength of this month’s report are consistent with an optimistic view of future results.”
The latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index shows the same trends, with July prices up 0.8% from June and 4.6% YOY.
“U.S. house prices continued to appreciate in July, consistent with the trend observed over the last several months,” said Dr. Nataliya Polkovnichenko, Supervisory Economist in FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics.
“Regionally, all nine census divisions posted positive price appreciation over the last 12 months, although the Pacific and Mountain divisions experienced only modest growth.”
The total value of the U.S. housing market just broke a new record at $52 trillion due to price surges through the beginning of the year. This is great news for homeowners sitting on unprecedented levels of equity but problematic for first-time and low-income house hunters trying to move up from renting.
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