The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 2.6% annual change in August, up from a 1% change in the previous month. The 10-City Composite showed an increase of 3%, up from a 1% increase in the previous month, while the 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 2.2%, a slight increase of 0.2% in the previous month.
Before a seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index,10-City and 20-City Composites, all posted a 0.4% month-over-month increase in August. After a seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 0.9%, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted a 1% increase each.
For the fourth straight month, Chicago reported the highest year-over-year gain among the 20 cities tracked by the index, although seven of 20 cities reported lower prices.
“U.S. home prices continued to rise in August 2023,” said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI, noting that “one measure of the strength of the housing market is the relationship of current prices to their historical levels. On that dimension, it’s worth noting that the National Composite, the 10-City Composite, and seven individual cities – Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, and New York – stand at their all-time highs. Observing the breadth of price changes provides insight into another dimension of market health. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased in 19 of 20 cities in August – and Cleveland only missed by a whisker; before seasonal adjustments, prices rose in 13 cities.”
Lazzara added, “Regional differences are substantial. On a year-over-year basis, the three best-performing metropolitan areas in August were Chicago (+5%), New York (+4.98%), and Detroit (+4.8%).
Chicago has topped the leader board for four consecutive months, and New York moved up this month to the silver medal position. The bottom of the rankings still has a western focus, with the worst performances coming from Las Vegas (-4.9%) and Phoenix (-3.9%). The Midwest (+3.9%) continues as the nation’s strongest region, followed by the Northeast (+3.8%). The West (-0.9%) and Southwest (-0.8%) remain the weakest regions.”
Clean up the cities these homeowners left to build in vacation destinations and get on the builders to build more affordable homes. The last 3 administrations did nothing to help affordable housing.