Home prices are up at a slower pace for the 2nd straight month
US home prices increased modestly in August, a trend that could make home buying affordable for more Americans.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 2 percent in August from a year earlier. That matched July’s annual increase as the slowest in seven years. Wages have been increasing more quickly than home prices since February, reversing a yearslong trend.
Slower price gains combined with low mortgage rates have helped the housing market revive this year after a slump in 2018. Steady hiring and an unemployment rate at a 50-year low have also forced companies to offer higher pay, making it easier for more people to afford house payments. And the average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 3.75 percent last week, down sharply from 4.86 percent a year earlier.
Sales of existing homes have increased 3.9 percent in the past year, while sales of new homes have soared 15.5 percent compared with a year earlier.
As many once-hot Western markets cool off, cities in the Southeast are starting to see the nation’s fastest price gains. Phoenix reported the biggest increase, with prices rising 6.3 percent from a year ago. But Charlotte saw the next highest gain, at 4.5 percent, followed by Tampa at 4.3 percent and Atlanta with 4 percent.
Home prices in Seattle barely rose, increasing just 0.7 percent from a year ago, while they slipped 0.1 percent in San Francisco.
The supply of available homes remains low, with builders complaining about a lack of available land and shortage of construction workers.