U.S. home prices gains accelerated slightly to end the year but the gains are well off the record increases of a few years ago, according to Case-Shiller.
Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Home Price Index rose 3.9% year over year in December, up from an annual gain of 3.7% the month before.
The 10- and 20-city composite indices were up 5% and 4.5%, respectively, Case-Shiller reported. The gains in both those indices were also slightly up from the previous month.
New York reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities with a 7.2% annual increase in December, followed by Chicago (6.6%) and Boston (6.3%). By contrast, Tampa, Florida, saw prices fall 1.1% annually, the most of any city.
Home price growth also stalled in the West in the second half of the year. San Francisco saw a 4.5% decline through the summer and fall, while prices in Seattle and San Diego dropped 3% and 2.9%, respectively.
Nationally, though, the overall index achieved an all-time high for the 19th consecutive month. However, the aggregate annual gain in U.S. home prices has slowed from a 2021 peak of nearly 19%.
The market is “seeing below-trend growth over the history of the index,” said Brian D. Luke, head of commodities, Real & Digital Assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
