US home prices rose at the fastest clip in months to a fresh record high in January, according to data released Tuesday, highlighting how a housing shortage combined with high mortgage rates continues to limit affordability.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price index rose 6% in January from a year before, accelerating from a 5.6% annual increase in December. It’s the highest annual increase since late 2022.
“For the second consecutive month, all cities reported increases in annual prices, with San Diego surging 11.2%,” wrote Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement.
“On a seasonal adjusted basis, home prices have continued to break through previous all-time highs set last year,” he noted.
However, decades-high interest rates and borrowing costs weighed on some price growth — especially for homes sold in the nation’s largest metro areas, according to the report.
On a month-over-month basis, prices rose 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The S&P CoreLogic’s 20-City Composite index inched up by 0.1%, the slowest pace since February of last year.
When stripping out seasonal adjustments, 17 of the 20 metro areas recorded price declines from December to January. San Diego, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, registered positive gains. Minneapolis home prices have declined 2.4% during the three months ended in January, according to the report.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% in the week ending March 21, according to Freddie Mac data.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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