United States: Home price growth stabilizes in August
On a month-on-month basis, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite home price index was unchanged in August, following a 0.1% increase in July. When adjusted for seasonal factors, home prices decrease 0.2%, after a flat reading in July and below market expectations of a 0.1% decline.
In annual terms, home price growth was stable at July’s near seven-year low of 2.0%, which was in line with analysts’ expectations. Housing price gains were strongest in Phoenix, Charlotte, and Tampa, respectively. Meanwhile, Las Vegas fell out of the top three cities, while San Francisco prices continued to fall. Overall, only 7 out of the 20 cities in the index registered higher annual price growth in August than in July.
Commenting on the reading, Philip Murphy, managing director and global head of index governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices, noted:
“A shift in regional leadership may be underway […] Phoenix saw an increase in its YOY price change to 6.3% and retained its leading position. However, Las Vegas dropped from number two to number eight among the cities of the 20-City Composite, falling from a 4.7% YOY change in July to only 3.3% in August. Meanwhile, the Southeast region included three of the top four cities.”