Home price appreciation has decelerated, according to the latest Home Price Indices (HPI), released Tuesday.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices indicated that while home price appreciation reached all-time highs in all 20 markets in March, it began slowing in April, with only two markets rising on an annual basis.
All nine U.S. census divisions reported a 6.3% annual gain for April, down from an 8.3% annual increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 7.2%, dropping from a 7.5% increase in the previous month.
"For the second consecutive month, we've seen our National Index jump at least 1% over its previous all-time high," says Brian D. Luke, head of commodities, real & digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "2024 is closely tracking the strong start observed last year, where March and April posted the largest rise seen prior to a slowdown in the summer and fall. Heading into summer, the market is at an all-time high, once again testing its resilience against the historically more active time of the year.”
San Diego continued to report the highest annual gain (+10.3%) in April among the 20 cities analyzed by the S&P Case-Shiller. It was followed by New York and Chicago, which reported increases of 9.4% and 8.7%, respectively. Portland once again held the lowest rank for the smallest year-over-year growth, at 1.7%.
"Thirteen markets are currently at all-time highs and San Diego reigns supreme once again, topping annual returns for the last six months,” Luke pointed out. “The Northeast is the best performing market for the previous nine months, with New York rising 9.4% annually. Sustained outperformance of the Northeast market was last observed in 2011. For the decade that followed, the West and the South held the top posts for performance. It's now been over a year since we've seen the top region come from the South or the West.”
Upward trends in Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Index, 20-City Composite, and 10-City Composite all decelerated from the prior month before seasonal adjustments, increasing 1.2%, 1.36%, and 1.38%, respectively. After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index and 10-City Composite posted the same month-over-month increase of 0.3% and 0.5% respectively as of last month, while the 20-City reported a monthly increase of 0.4%.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that U.S. house prices rose by 0.2% in April from March, according to its seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index.
House prices rose 6.3% year over year, and the previously reported 0.1% price increase in March was revised downward to 0%.
Seasonally adjusted monthly price changes in nine census divisions ranged from -0.2% in the West South Central and Middle Atlantic divisions to +1.4% in the East South Central division. Prices rose 3% year over year in the West South Central division and rose 8.5% year over year in the New England and Middle Atlantic divisions.
“U.S. house prices continued to rise in April,” said Dr. Anju Vajja, deputy director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. “However, the appreciation rate slowed in April amid a slight rise in both mortgage rates and housing inventory. The housing market in general began to show some signs of normalization.”
FHFA’s May Home Price Index report is expected to be published on July 30.
