Case-Shiller Index: Home Prices Post Highest YOY Gain In 30 Years

Home prices continued to rise dramatically nationwide in May, according to the latest results of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 16.6% increase in May 2021 from a year earlier. That followed a 14.8% year-over-year increase reported in April.

“The 16.6% gain is the highest reading in more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data,” said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI.

The 10-City Composite Index posted an annual increase of 16.4% in May, up from a 14.5% annual increase in April. The 20-City Composite Index increased 17% in May from a year earlier, up from a 15% year-over-year gain the previous month.

All 20 cities in the index reported higher price increases in the year ending May 2021 as compared to the year ending April 2021, S&P said, with Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle reporting the highest year-over-year gains.

Phoenix led with a 25.9% year-over-year price increase, followed by San Diego with a 24.7% gain and Seattle with a 23.4% gain.

"A month ago, I described April's performance as ‘truly extraordinary,’ and this month I find myself running out of superlatives,” Lazzara said. He said the market’s strength continues to be “broadly based. All 20 cities rose, and all 20 gained more in the 12 months ended in May than they had gained in the 12 months ended in April. Prices in 18 of our 20 cities now stand at all-time highs, as do the National Composite and both the 10- and 20-City indices.” He added that “every region logged double-digit gains.”

The rising prices are being driving “in part by reaction to the COVID pandemic, as potential buyers move from urban apartments to suburban homes,” Lazzara said. “May’s data continue to be consistent with this hypothesis.”

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