Home Prices Rose 5% in July, Says Case-Shiller

New York, September 24, 2024-The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.0% annual gain for July, down from a 5.5% annual gain in the previous month.

The Ten-City Composite saw an annual increase of 6.8%, down from a 7.4% annual increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 5.9%, dropping from a 6.5% increase in the previous month. New York again reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities with an 8.8% increase in July, followed by Las Vegas and Los Angeles with annual increases of 8.2% and 7.2%, respectively. Portland held the lowest rank for the smallest year-over-year growth, notching the same 0.8% annual increase in July as last month.

The U.S. National Index, the 20-City Composite, and the Ten-City Composite upward trends continued to decelerate from last month, with pre-seasonality adjustment increases of 0.1% for the national index, and both the 20-City and Ten-City Composites remained unchanged on the month.

After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 0.2%, while both the 20-City and Ten-City Composite reported a monthly rise of 0.3%.

“Home prices rose once again broadly in July. However, national growth moderated, and there were a number of cities that had negative sequential growth,” reports Truist. “Typically, seasonal tailwinds last through the end of the summer, so growth moderation and the select sequential declines should somewhat help affordability when coupled with lower mortgage rates. Mortgage rates fell about 20-25 bps in July but have come off an additional 65 bps since then. We will be looking for any meaningful changes in home price trends that these rate moves drive in future releases.

“The flagship S&P/CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 0.1% m/m to 335.77 for the month of July, as the index continues to set new highs. However, note that this was the softest sequential growth since the beginning of the year. Year-over-year growth came in at 5.9%. Price growth peaked in March, and growth has been moderating in the months since. Despite the moderation, sequential growth in July is the norm with this index, as seasonality tailwinds tend to support home prices in the spring and into summer. Seasonal strength for the index usually lasts through September and can stretch into the fall during particularly strong markets. The 10-city and national indexes decelerated modestly y/y but still posted notable gains of 6.8% and 5.0%, respectively.”