By Jing Fu on NAHB Eye on Housing
On a year-over-year basis, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 0.7% annual gain in March, down from 2.1% in February. Year-over-year home price appreciation slowed for the twelfth consecutive month.
Meanwhile, the Home Price Index, released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.7% in March, following an 8.8% increase in February. On a year-over-year basis, the FHFA Home Price NSA Index rose by 3.7% in March, down from 4.3% in the previous month.
In addition to tracking national home price changes, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported home price indexes across 20 metro areas in March. In March, local home prices varied and their annual growth rates ranged from -10.3% to 18.5% in March. Among the 20 metro areas, nine metro areas exceeded the national average of 5.1%. Detroit, New York and San Diego had the highest home price appreciation. Detroit led the way with an 18.5% increase, followed by New York with a 13.9% increase and San Diego with a 12.7% increase.
Compared to the previous month, home prices in five metro areas declined in March. They were Dallas (-1.5%), Cleveland (-2.7%), Las Vegas (-4.2%), Phoenix (-4.5%) and Seattle (-10.3%).