Home Prices Rose 5.0% in April, S&P/Case-Shiller

New York, NY and Seattle, WA, June 28, 2016—The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index reported a 5.0% annual gain in April, down from 5.1% the previous month. The Ten-City Composite posted a 4.7% annual increase, down from 4.8% in March. The 20-City Composite reported a year- over-year gain of 5.4%, down from 5.5% from the prior month.

Portland, Seattle, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities with another month of annual price increases. Portland led the way with a 12.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle at 10.7%, and Denver with a 9.5% increase. Nine cities reported greater price increases in the year ending April 2016 versus the year ending March 2016.

Before seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a month-over-month gain of 1.0% in April. The Ten-City Composite recorded a 1.0% month-over-month increase, while the 20-City Composite posted a 1.1% increase in April. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.1% month-over- month increase, the Ten-City Composite posted a 0.3% increase, and the 20-City Composite reported a 0.5% month-over-month increase. After seasonal adjustment, 15 cities saw prices rise, two cities were unchanged, and three cities experienced negative monthly prices changes.

In addition, according to the May Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, the bottom third of the housing market has grown increasingly competitive, with fewer price cuts on listed homes and faster growing home values than more expensive homes. Home values for the most expensive homes on the market, which at one point in February 2014 were growing at an average of 7% annually, have stabilized. Those homes have been gaining value at about 4% each year since the beginning of 2015, while home values at the bottom of the market continue to grow at about 8% a year.