Housing prices continue to rise as the supply of new homes continues short.
Unsold home inventories sit at a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.1 months in June, according to the National Association of Realtors.
As for prices, in June the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose month-on-month for the fourth straight month in all 20 of the biggest metro markets.
The U.S. National Index, which includes all nine census divisions, and the 10-city and 20-city composites all posted a 0.9% month-over-month increase in June.
"U.S. home prices continued to increase in June 2023," Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indexes, said in a statement.
"Our National Composite now stands only 0.02% below its all-time peak from exactly one year ago. Our 10- and 20-City Composites stand 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively, below their June 2022 peaks.”
Fifth straight rise in national home-price index
Further, "June is the fifth consecutive month in which home prices have increased across the U.S.” in the National Index, he said. “With 2023 half over, the National Composite has risen 4.7%, which is slightly above the median full calendar year increase in more than 35 years of data.”
To be sure, “we recognize that the market's gains could be truncated by increases in mortgage rates or by general economic weakness,” Lazzara said. “But the breadth and strength of this month's report are consistent with an optimistic view of future results."
The 30-year-fixed-mortgage rate averaged 7.23% in the week ended Thursday, up from 5.55% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.
As for the biggest gainers in year-over-year prices, Chicago rose 4.2%, Cleveland 4.1% and New York 3.4%. Turning to the biggest price decliners, San Francisco dropped 9.7%, Seattle 8.8% and Las Vegas 8.2%.
Given that the median existing-home price totaled $406,700 in July, up 1.9% from July 2022, according to NAR, if you’re looking to buy a new home, you may want to wait.
While home prices are rising, rents are dipping. Monthly rents in the 50 biggest cities slipped 1% in July from a year earlier, the third consecutive month of year-on-year declines, according to Realtor.com.
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