The numbers: U.S. home prices rose in July, as the housing market dealt with a supply shortage of home listings over the summer.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city house price index rose 0.9% in July, as compared with the previous month. Prices were up for the sixth month in a row.
On a year-over-year basis, home prices in the 20 major metro markets in the U.S. were up 0.1% nationally.
A broader measure of home prices, the national index, rose on a month-over-month basis in July by 0.6%, but rose 1% over the past year. All numbers are seasonally adjusted.
Key details: The Midwest posted the strongest home-price gains in the month of July.
Chicago, Cleveland and New York led the rankings as the three cities with the highest year-over-year price gains among the top 20 cities in July.
Homes in Chicago were up 4.4% in July 2023 as compared with the same month last year.
The West continued to lag behind the rest of the country. Home prices fell the most in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
| Cities | Change from last year |
| Atlanta | 2.2% |
| Boston | 1.3% |
| Charlotte | 1.8% |
| Chicago | 4.4% |
| Cleveland | 4% |
| Dallas | -3.4% |
| Denver | -2.8% |
| Detroit | 3.2% |
| Las Vegas | -7.2% |
| Los Angeles | 0.4% |
| Miami | 1.9% |
| Minneapolis | 1% |
| New York | 3.8% |
| Phoenix | -6.6% |
| Portland | -3.3% |
| San Diego | 0.7% |
| San Francisco | -6.2% |
| Seattle | -5.5% |
| Tampa | -0.8% |
| Washington | 1.9% |
| Composite-20 | 0.1% |
A separate report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency also showed home prices rising in July, up 0.8% from June. Home prices were the strongest in New England, according to the government’s data.
And over the last year, the FHFA index was up 4.6%.
Big picture: Home prices stayed up in July as the housing market was still dealing with an inventory shortage over the summer. High rates discouraged homeowners from selling since they would likely have to take on a much higher rate if they bought after. Buyers who need to purchase a new home out of necessity are coughing up more and doing so with heated competition over a small number of listings.
What S&P said: “U.S. home prices continued to rally in July 2023,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said.
“Although the market’s gains could be truncated by increases in mortgage rates or by general economic weakness, the breadth and strength of this month’s report are consistent with an optimistic view of future results,” he added.
What are they saying? “The Case Shiller index indicates that the typical home price in July 2023 is about 45% higher than it was four years ago in July 2019. This is about the same rate of price growth that occurred during the 2002 through 2006 period when subprime lending drove exuberant housing demand,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said in a statement.
While the housing market today is “very different” from then, she added, “a modest price correction is probably in the offing as demand is going to slow further this fall in response to sustained higher mortgage rates.”
Market reaction: Stocks
DJIA
SPX
were up in early trading on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
rose above 4.5%.
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