Home Prices Surge Nationally, Detroit Leads Major City Gains

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 3.9% annual change in September, up from a 2.5% change in the previous month. 

The 10-City Composite showed an increase of 4.8%, up from a 3.0% increase in the previous month. 

The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 3.9%, up from a 2.1% increase in the previous month. 

Detroit surpassed Chicago, reporting the highest year-over-year gain among the 20 cities, with a 6.7% increase in September, followed by a 6.5% increase in San Diego. 

Three of the 20 cities reported lower prices in September versus a year ago. 

Year-to-date, the National Composite shows a 6.1% increase, surpassing the median full calendar year rise recorded over more than 35 years of data. 

Despite this year's hike in mortgage rates, which has dampened home sales, the limited availability of homes for sale has bolstered prices considerably. 

Barring higher rates or unforeseen events causing an economic downturn, this month's report's broad scope and robustness align with an optimistic outlook for future outcomes.

The Case-Shiller index measures U.S. residential real estate prices, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate nationally.

Last week, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.29% for the week ending November 22, as reported by Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This rate shows a slight decrease from the previous week's 7.44% and up from 6.58% the same week a year ago.

According to National Association of REALTORS data released last week, existing home sales descended 4.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million. Sales slumped 14.6% from one year ago.

The median existing-home sales price climbed 3.4% from one year ago to $391,800 – the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

At the end of October, the stock of unsold existing homes increased by 1.8% from the previous month, reaching 1.15 million. This amount represents a supply of 3.6 months at the current rate of monthly sales.

Housing-focused ETFs moved lower, with the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF XHB and the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF ITB down around 0.66%. Vanguard Real Estate ETF VNQ was down 0.41%, and Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE was down 0.33%.

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