House prices rose in February at the fastest rate since November 2022, according to national house price data released on Tuesday.
According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices nationwide rose 6.4% compared to the same month last year.
“Following last year's decline, U.S. home prices are at or near record highs,” Brian Luke, head of commodities, physical and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a press release.
“Our 10-city and 20-city composite indexes are currently at all-time highs.”
An indicator of price changes in the country's 20 largest cities rose 7.3%, up from 6.6% in the previous month. Analysts expected prices to rise 6.7% year-over-year on this measure, Bloomberg data showed.
Nationwide, prices rose 0.6% from the previous month, marking the first monthly increase since October last year. Seasonally adjusted prices rose 0.4% in February.
Luke added: “This is the second time house prices have increased in the face of economic uncertainty, since the previous price peak in 2022.”
“The first decline followed the start of the Fed's rate hike cycle. The second decline followed the peak in average mortgage rates last October. Potential Fed rate cuts and enthusiasm for lower mortgage rates led buyers to 'Citi Composite to new highs, appears to be supporting “10 and 20 interest rate increases.'' ”
Seattle, San Diego, and San Francisco had the largest monthly home price increases. San Diego, Detroit, and Chicago had the biggest year-over-year price increases.
“A significant shortage of existing homes for sale fueled the strong 0.4% growth.” [month-over-month] February's home price gains are consistent with the consensus above for home price growth to end 2024 at 5%. [year-over-year]” Thomas Ryan, real estate economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.
“Looking ahead, we believe that while still-high mortgage rates will hamper the house price boom, tight supply and increasing buyer demand will lead to several more years of solid house price growth. is thinking.”
