April data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices indicates housing prices increased on a month-over-month basis in all 20 major metro markets analyzed, with gains accelerating in 12 markets.
“Despite deepening declines year over year, home prices climbed on a monthly basis for the third consecutive month,” says Nik Scoolis, manager, housing economics for Zonda. “The most recent data illustrates renewed strength in the housing market despite tepid existing-home sales figures. With rates still elevated and prices now rising, how buyers continue to navigate affordability problems will be important to watch into the next quarter.”
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S Census divisions, recorded a 0.2% annual decrease in April, down from a 0.7% gain in the previous month. The 10-City Composite decreased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, while the 20-City Composite posted a 1.7% year-over-year loss.
Miami (+5.2%), Chicago (+4.1%), and Atlanta (+3.5%) recorded the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities analyzed in April. Seventeen of the 20 cities reported lower prices in the year ending April versus the year ending March.
“Miami’s 5.2% gain made it the best-performing city for the ninth consecutive month,” says Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “At the other end of the scale, however, the worst eight performers are all in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, with Seattle (-12.4%) and San Francisco (-11.1%) at the bottom. The Southeast (+3.6%) continues as the country’s strongest region, while the West (-6.9%) remains the weakest.”
Before seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a 1.3% month-over-month increase in April, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.7%.
“The U.S. housing market continued to strengthen in April,” Lazzara says. “Home prices peaked in June 2022, declined until January 2023, and then began to recover. If I were trying to make a case that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 had definitively ended in January 2023, April’s data would bolster my argument.”
