In July, national home prices continued to grow at the same pace as in June. Three metro areas, including New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC, experienced home price declines for the month.
The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 1.7% in July, unchanged from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 3.2% annual gain in July, the lowest annual gain since September 2012. After fifteen straight months’ decreases, the annual growth rate remained unchanged in July.
Meanwhile, the Home Price Index, released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.7% in July, following a 2.5% increase in June. On a year-over-year basis, the FHFA Home Price NSA Index rose by 5.0% in July, after an increase of 4.9% in June.
In addition to tracking home price changes nationwide, S&P also reported home price indexes across 20 metro areas. In July, local home prices varied and their annual growth rates ranged from -4.9% to 7.4%. Among the 20 metro areas, eleven metro areas exceeded the national average of 1.7%. San Diego, Seattle and Charlotte had the highest home price appreciation and experienced the acceleration in home price growth in July. San Diego led the way with a 7.4% increase, followed by Seattle with a 6.3% increase and Charlotte with a 6.2% increase.
Home prices in three metro areas declined in July. They were New York (-4.9%), Los Angeles (-4.5%) and Washington DC (-0.7%). It is the fifth consecutive month that New York experienced negative home price appreciation in 2019.
