AgentHousing MarketNewsletterReal Estate

Home prices in 19 cities are still at all-time highs

Even as annual home-price growth slowed, there is "very strong growth" at the city level

Home-price growth continued to slow down in November, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index report released on Tuesday.

The index showed an 18.8% annual gain for the year ending in November 2021, dropping from 19.1% the month prior. After four consecutive months of record growth from April through July 2021, the index leveled off in August, before posting its first decline in September.

“For the past several months, home prices have been rising at a very high, but decelerating, rate. That trend continued in November 2021,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI said in a statement. “Despite this deceleration, it’s important to remember that November’s 18.8% gain was the sixth-highest reading in the 34 years covered by our data (the top five were the months immediately preceding November).”

The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 16.8% year over year in November, however this increase was down from the 17.2% increase posted a month prior. The 10-City index also showed signs of deceleration, dropping from 18.5% year-over-year growth in October to a 18.3% increase in November.

“We continue to see very strong growth at the city level,” Lazzara said in a statement. “All 20 cities saw price increases in the year ended November 2021, and prices in 19 cities are at their all-time highs. November’s price increase ranked in the top quintile of historical experience for 19 cities, and in the top decile for 16 of them.”

Yet again, Phoenix, Tampa and Miami reported the highest year-over-year increases among the 20 cities analyzed, with annual increases of 32.2%, 29.0% and 26.6%, respectively. Of the 20 cities, 11 reported higher price increases in the year ending November 2021 than in the year ending October 2021.

“Prices were strongest in the South and Southeast (both +25.0%), but every region continued to log impressive gains,” Lazzara said in a statement.

After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index rose 0.9% month over month in November, while the 10-city and 20-city indexes rose 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Although price growth decelerated through the fall, early reports indicated that price growth began accelerating again in December.

“The latest reports indicate that house price appreciation revved up in December, which should encourage more supply in the short run,” Zillow senior economist Kwame Donaldson said in a statement. “But rising mortgage rates, reduced fiscal support from the federal government, and leveling job growth will ease home sales growth and appreciation by the end of this year.”