S&P Dow
Jones Indices (S&P DJI) reported on Tuesday its Case-Shiller Home Price
Index, which tracks home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas, showed a 5.2 per
cent y-o-y jump in August, following an unrevised 5.9 per cent y-o-y climb in July. This was the weakest annual increase in house prices
since October 2023 (+4.9 per cent).
Economists had foreseen
an advance of 5.1 per cent y-o-y.
According to
the report, all 20 cities demonstrated
y-o-y gains in prices in August, led by New York (+8.1 per cent y-o-y),
Las Vegas (+7.3 per cent y-o-y), and Chicago (+7.2 per cent y-o-y).
The
S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures all nine
U.S. census divisions, soared 4.2 per cent y-o-y in August, following a downwardly
revised 4.8 per cent y-o-y surge (from +5.0 per cent y-o-y) in the previous
month.
On a m-o-m
basis, the U.S. National Index slipped 0.1 per cent, and the 20-City Composite fell 0.3 per cent.
Commenting on
the latest data, Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities, Real & Digital Assets
at S&P DJI, noted that home price growth is beginning to show signs of
strain, recording the slowest annual gain since mortgage rates peaked in 2023. “As
students went back to school, home price shoppers appeared less willing to push
the index higher than in the summer months,” he added. “Prices continue to
decelerate for the past six months, pushing appreciation rates below their
long-run average of 4.8%.”