US home prices continued to rise in August, hitting a new record high and marking the seventh consecutive month of increases. Even as mortgage rates topped 7% in August, historically low inventory continued to push up the price of a home.
Prices rose 0.9% in August from the month before, according to seasonally adjusted data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index released Tuesday.
Compared to a year ago, the national composite index also rose, with prices up 2.6% from August 2022, according to Case-Shiller data.
“One measure of the strength of the housing market is the relationship of current prices to their historical levels,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
August saw record-high price levels, he said. The National Composite, the 10-City Composite, and seven individual cities (Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Detroit; Miami and New York) were at all-time highs in August.
“Observing the breadth of price changes provides insight into another dimension of market health,” Lazzara said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased in 19 of 20 cities in August — and Cleveland only missed by a hair.
Where prices are rising and falling the most
While 12 of the 20 cities reported higher prices in the year ending August 2023 versus the year ending July 2023, seven of 20 cities reported lower prices.
Chicago led the way for the fourth consecutive month, with prices up 5% from a year ago; followed by New York, with prices up 4.98% from a year ago; and Detroit, with prices up 4.8%.
Prices fell most in the West: Home prices in Las Vegas were down by 4.9% and Phoenix were down by 3.9%.
The Midwest, where prices are up 3.9% from a year ago, continues to be the nation’s strongest region. It is followed by the Northeast, where prices are up 3.8%.
In the West and Southwest prices were down 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.
Year to date, the National Composite has risen 5.8%, which is well above the median full calendar year increase in more than 35 years of data, Lazzara said.
“The year’s increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed housing demand — but after years of very low rates, it seems to have suppressed supply even more,” said Lazzara.
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