News
Nasdaq sinks 2% as shares plummet and end worst month of 2024
Home prices in February rose at the fastest pace since November 2022, according to national home price data released Tuesday.
Prices across the country rose 6.4% compared to the same month last year, which S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index showed.
“Following last year’s decline, U.S. home prices are at or near all-time highs,” wrote Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a press release.
“Our 10- and 20-city composite indices are currently at peak levels.”
An indicator that measures price changes in 20 of the country’s largest cities rose 7.3%, up from a 6.6% increase in the previous month. Data from Bloomberg showed that analysts expected this reading to show prices were up 6.7% from a year earlier.
Prices rose 0.6% nationally compared to the previous month, the first monthly increase since last October. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices rose 0.4% in February.
“Since the previous price peak in 2022, this marks the second time that house prices have risen in the face of economic uncertainty,” Luke added.
“The first decline followed the start of the Federal Reserve’s walk cycle. The second decline followed the spike in average mortgage rates last October. Enthusiasm for potential Fed cuts and lower mortgage rates appears to have supported the buyer behavior, driving the 10 and 20- City Composites to new highs.”
On a monthly basis, Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco saw the biggest jumps in home prices. Year-over-year, San Diego, Detroit and Chicago saw the biggest price increases.
“A substantial shortage of existing homes for sale fueled a sharp 0.4% drop [month-over-month] increase in house prices in February, consistent with our above-consensus call that house price growth will end 2024 at 5% [year-over-year],” wrote Thomas Ryan, real estate economist at Capital Economics, in a note to clients on Tuesday.
“Looking ahead, while still-high mortgage rates will prevent a boom in home prices, we believe the combination of tight supply and increased buyer demand will deliver another few years of solid home price growth.”