World News – US – August house prices post biggest gains in more than two years, says S&P Case Shiller

Strong demand and limited supply of housing have led to a dramatic acceleration in house price increases

Prices exceeded expectations, up 57% per year in August, down from 48% in July, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National House Price Index

The 10-City Composite achieved a 4Gain of 7%, up from 35% in the previous month The composite rose of the 20 cities 52% year-on-year, up from 41% in July Detroit was not included in the results, due to insufficient reporting of data The 19 cities for which data were reported increased monthly and annually, with the 19 cities registering larger annual gains than in July

« A trend of accelerating increases in the National Composite Index began in August 2019, but was halted in May and June, as Covid-related restrictions caused price increases to decelerate slightly, » said Craig Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices

« The last time the National Composite tied Aug. 5’s 7% growth rate was 25 months ago, in July 2018 If future reports continue in this vein, we may soon be able to conclude that the deceleration linked to Covid is behind us « 

Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego recorded the highest annual gains among the 19 cities in August Phoenix led the way with a 9 9% price increase, followed by Seattle with an 8 5% increase and San Diego with a 9% price increase. a 76% increase

Chicago, New York and San Francisco recorded the smallest annual home price increases in August

S&P Case-Shiller is a repeat sales index, running on a three-month average, measuring the selling prices of similar homes over time Other house price indexes, such as the Association’s measure national real estate agents, show much higher price gains because they calculate the median price of all homes sold during the month

As there is currently a lot more sales activity in the high end of the market, where the supply is larger, the median price is much higher The National Association of Realtors reported a 15% annual price gain for September

Prices are fueled not only by strong demand but also by historically low mortgage rates Rates set several new highs over the summer and continued to do so in September Low mortgage rates give buyers more purchasing power, which allows sellers to raise prices

« Weekly home price data shows sellers continue to be in the driver’s seat as asking prices maintain record highs This has kept median home prices stuck near the summer high even as the snow is starting to fall in some markets, ”said Danielle Hale, chief real estate agent economistcom « Looking ahead, we expect continued price growth over the coming months, with demand remaining stable with mortgage rates below 3% »

The median selling price of new homes rose 35% in September each year, according to the US Census Builders are grappling with higher prices for land, labor and materials and are therefore unable to build as many entry-level homes as they want Buyers’ demand is greatest at the bottom of the market, but supply is lowest

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Case Index – Shiller, S&P Global Ratings, Real Estate, Robert J Shiller