The latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices show a continued recovery for U.S. housing prices, with all 20 major metro markets tracked for analysis reporting month-over-month price increases.
The U.S. National Index posted a 1.3% month-over-month increase in March, with the 10-City and 20-City Composites posting 1.6% and 1.5% increases, respectively. After the seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 0.4%, with the 10-City Composite gaining 0.6% and 20-City Composites with a 0.5% increase.
“The modest increases in home prices we saw a month ago accelerated in March 2023,” said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The National Composite rose by 1.3% in March, and now stands only 3.6% below its June 2022 peak. Our 10- and 20-City Composites performed similarly, with March gains of 1.6% and 1.5% respectively. On a trailing 12-month basis, the National Composite is only 0.7% above its level in March 2022, with the 10- and 20-City Composites modestly negative on a year-over-year basis.”
Lazzara added that the “acceleration we observed nationally was also apparent at a more granular level. Before seasonal adjustment, prices rose in all 20 cities in March (versus in 12 in February), and in all 20 price gains accelerated between February and March. Seasonally adjusted data showed 15 cities with rising prices in March (versus 11 in February), with acceleration in 14 cities.”
While Lazzara cautioned that “two months of increasing prices do not a definitive recovery make,” he nonetheless observed that “March’s results suggest that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 may have come to an end. That said, the challenges posed by current mortgage rates and the continuing possibility of economic weakness are likely to remain a headwind for housing prices for at least the next several months.”
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