United States: Home price growth continues to cool in July
On a month-on-month basis, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite home price index rose 0.1% in July, down from the 0.4% increase in June. However, when adjusted for seasonal factors, home prices were flat in July and below market expectations of a 0.1% uptick.
In annual terms, home price growth slowed to a near seven-year low of 2.0% in July, down from 2.2% in June, and missing analysts’ expectations of 2.1% growth. West Coast markets, which had been major drivers of price growth in 2018, continued to cool. This was particularly the case in Seattle, where house prices fell again, and San Francisco, which saw only mild year-on-year growth of 0.2%. That said, home prices in Phoenix continued to grow at the fastest rate, with Las Vegas, Charlotte and Tampa following closely behind. Overall, only 7 out of the 20 cities in the index registered higher annual price growth in July than in June.
Commenting on the reading, Philip Murphy, managing director and global head of index governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices, noted:
“Year-over-year home prices continued to gain, but at ever more modest rates […] However, the U.S. National Home Price NSA Index remained steady with a YOY price gain of 3.2%, the same as prior month. Home price gains remained positive in low single digits in most cities, and other fundamentals indicate renewed housing demand.”