U.S. Home Prices Accelerate, Rising for Second Consecutive Month

U.S. home prices have now increased for two consecutive months, ending a seven-month streak of month-over-month declines. Home prices were up 1.3% from February to March, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices across the nation. While that was the second month in a row that prices have increased, the annual rate of acceleration has slowed over the past 11 months and is now at the lowest level since May 2012. Home prices were up only 0.7% year-over-year in March 2023, down from the 2.1% annual jump in February 2023. Looking at more granular results, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index, which tracks prices in the 20 largest metros, posted a 1.5% month-over-month gain, while the annual change went from a gain of 0.4% in February to a decline of 1.1% in March. In March, all 20 cities in the index reported month-over-month price increases. The largest monthly increase was in San Francisco (3%), followed by San Diego (2.5%) and Detroit (2.2%). On an annual basis, 10 of the 20 metro areas recorded lower prices, with the largest pull backs in Seattle (-12.4%) and San Francisco (-11.2%). The nation’s biggest annual hikes were led by South region markets Miami (7.7%), Tampa (4.8%), Charlotte (4.7%) and Atlanta (4.5%).