U.S. Home Prices Increase Year Over Year For 139th Month

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index dropped to an 11-year low in the spring of 2023 but is starting to regain momentum. U.S. home prices increased year over year for the 139th consecutive month in August. The annual 3.7% home price gain in August was the highest since February 2023. CoreLogic’s forecast shows annual U.S. home price gains at 3.4% by August 2024.

While some states in the West still posted annual home price losses in August, that number has decreased since spring. Meanwhile, housing markets in New England are starting to heat up, with New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island seeing the largest year-over-year price gains in August. Home prices are 42% higher compared with March 2020, when the pandemic began.

CoreLogic projects that year-over-year home price appreciation will relax slightly by August 2024 to 3.4%. The median sales price for a U.S. single-family home remained at $375,000 in August, with California ($705,000), the District of Columbia ($630,000) and Massachusetts ($585,000) again leading the nation. In August, the annual appreciation of detached properties (3.7%) was 0.2 percentage points higher than that of attached properties (3.5%).

“While continued mortgage rate increases challenge affordability across U.S. housing markets, home price growth is in line with typical seasonal averages, reflecting strong demand bolstered by a healthy labor market, strong wage growth and supporting demographic trends,“ said Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Still, with a slower buying season ahead and the surging cost of homeownership, additional monthly price gains may taper off.”

Top Takeaways:

• U.S. home prices (including distressed sales) increased by 3.7% year over year in August 2023 compared with August 2022. On a month-over-month basis, home prices rose by 0.3% compared with July 2023.
• In August, the annual appreciation of detached properties (3.7%) was 0.2 percentage points higher than that of attached properties (3.5%).
• CoreLogic’s forecast shows annual U.S. home price gains at 3.4% by August 2024.
• Miami posted the highest year-over-year home price increase of the country's 20 tracked metro areas in June, at 8.3%. St. Louis saw the next-highest gain (6.4%), followed by Charlotte, North Carolina (5.4%).
• Among states, New Hampshire ranked first for annual appreciation in July (up by 9.4%), followed by Maine and Vermont (both up by 8.9%). Eight states recorded home price losses: Idaho (-4%), Montana (-2.7%), Nevada (-2.3%), Utah (-2%), Washington  (-1%), Arizona (-0.9%), Texas (-0.4%) and New York (-0.2%).