Home Prices Rise for 9th Straight Month

Christine Maurus
Bloomberg News
(TNS)

Home prices in the U.S. rose for a ninth straight month, reaching a fresh record as buyers battled for a stubbornly tight supply of listings.

A national gauge of prices rose 0.6% in October from September, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. A seasonally adjusted measure of prices in 20 of the largest cities also rose 0.6%.

“U.S. home prices accelerated at their fastest annual rate of the year in October,” Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. “We are experiencing broad-based home-price appreciation across the country, with steady gains seen in 19 of 20 cities.”

The index measures a period when 30-year mortgage rates were climbing toward 8%, shutting out increasing numbers of would-be homebuyers. Many are current owners who are postponing moves while clinging to the cheap loans they landed when borrowing costs were at historic lows. Their reluctance to sell has left the market starved for listings, keeping prices high for people determined to seal a deal for one of the few available choices.

On a year-over-year basis, price gains accelerated, climbing 4.8% in October, compared with a 4% annual increase in September. Detroit had the biggest increase, at 8.1%, followed by San Diego with 7.2% and New York with 7.1%. Portland, Oregon, was the only one of the 20 cities where prices fell year over year.

Pressures may ease a bit in the coming months. Mortgage rates now have dropped below 7% and many economists expect them to slide further as the Federal Reserve winds down its inflation-fighting efforts. Lower rates would give house hunters a boost in purchasing power, and may encourage more owners to list their properties, potentially leading to a softening in prices.

An index by Redfin Corp. showed that price growth slowed for a third straight month in November. Home prices rose 0.6% from October, the smallest monthly increase since June, and were up 6.4% from a year earlier, the brokerage reported.

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