U.S. Home Prices Continue to Soften in September

(The Center Square) Home prices slowed in September as higher mortgage rates continued to weaken demand, according to a leading measure of U.S. single-family home prices.

S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices data released Tuesday for September 2022 showed that home price gains declined across the country.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 10.6% annual gain in September, down from 12.9% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase was at 9.7%, down from 12.1% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 10.4% year-over-year gain, down from 13.1% in the previous month. 

“As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be more expensive and housing becomes less affordable,” S&P DJI Managing Director Craig Lazzara said in a statement. “Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, home prices may well continue to weaken.”

All 20 cities included in the index reported lower price increases in the year ending September 2022 compared with the year ending August 2022. Miami, Tampa and Charlotte reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in September.

“Our September 2022 report reflects short-term declines and medium-term deceleration in housing prices across the U.S.,” Lazzara said.

“For example, the National Composite Index fell -1.0% in September, and now stands 10.6% above its year-ago level. We see comparable patterns in our 10- and 20-City Composites, which declined -1.4% and -1.5%, respectively, bringing their year-over-year gains down to 9.7% and 10.4%. For all three composites, year-over-year gains, while still well above their historical medians, peaked roughly six months ago and have decelerated since then.”

“The three best-performing cities in August repeated their performance in September,” Lazzara said. 

“On a year-over-year basis, Miami (+24.6%) edged Tampa (+23.8%) for the top spot, with Charlotte (+17.8%) beating Atlanta (+17.1%) for third place. The Southeast (+20.8%) and South (+19.9%) were the strongest regions by far, with gains more than double those of the Northeast, Midwest, and West; the two worst-performing cities were San Francisco (+2.3%) and Seattle (+6.2%).”