Yahoo Finance US home price growth rises for the second straight month
Home price growth in the U.S. is back on the rise, increasing for the second consecutive month.
Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 3.2% annual gain in September, up 3.1% from the previous month. The results were below analyst estimates of 3.25%, according to Bloomberg. The increase follows 16 months of deceleration. The 20-City Composite was unchanged, posting a 2.1% annual gain — up from 2% and above analyst estimates of 2.01%.
“After a long period of decelerating price increases, it’s notable that in September both the national and 20-city composite indices rose at a higher rate than in August,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a press statement. “It is, of course, too soon to say whether this month marks an end to the deceleration or is merely a pause in the longer-term trend.”
The results are in line with a recent report by the National Association of Realtors that revealed median existing home prices climbed 6.2% from to $270,900 in October from a year ago — the strongest price appreciation since June 2017 and the 92nd consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.
It also follows other positive housing data. Last week, the NAR said existing home sales rose at the fastest pace in more than two years amid lower mortgage rates and a shortage of properties for sale. Additionally, separate data revealed that building permits, which indicates the creation of housing in the future, jumped to a more than 12-year high. New home sales fell 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units in October, according to the Commerce Department Tuesday morning.
For the fourth straight month, Phoenix led the 20-City Composite in terms of price growth posting a 6% year-over-year price increase. It was followed by Charlotte with a 4.6% increase and Tampa with a 4.5% increase. Half of the 20 cities reported gain in September.
Amanda Fung is an editor at Yahoo Finance.
Read more:
US home price growth rise for the first time in 16 months
Why mortgage delinquencies are at a 12-year low
US home price growth unchanged after 15-month slowdown
Low interest rates are giving the housing market a boost
Here are 10 U.S. cities where homebuyers have an advantage over sellers
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
