by Will Kessler
Home prices surged in March to another all-time high for the sixth month out of the last twelve, S&P Global announced Tuesday.
The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the entire country, rose 6.5 percent year-over-year in March, matching the annual gain in February, according to S&P Global. The increase in the price of homes is higher than the general pace of inflation, which increased 3.4 percent year-over-year in April.
“This month’s report boasts another all-time high,” Brian Luke, head of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a press release. “We’ve witnessed records repeatedly break in both stock and housing markets over the past year. Our National Index has reached new highs in six of the last 12 months.”
The top 10 U.S. cities saw an even bigger increase in the price of homes, rising 8.2 percent annually in March, up from 8.1 percent in February, according to the release. The index for the top 20 U.S. cities had their prices increase by 7.3 percent in February and 7.4 percent in March compared to the previous year.
San Diego reported the largest increase in home prices in March, increasing 11.1 percent, followed by New York and Cleveland, where prices increased 9.2 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively, according to the report. In contrast, Portland reported the lowest price growth for the month, at just 2.2 percent year-over-year.
U.S. home prices, as tracked by Case-Shiller, rose +1.3% between the February '24 and the March '24 reading.
That's a new all-time high—national home prices are +2.7% above the 2022 peak
Year-over-year: +6.5% pic.twitter.com/NYcNnm3fEE
— Lance Lambert (@NewsLambert) May 28, 2024
Americans looking to purchase a home have also been hit particularly hard by a surge in the average rate for a 30-year mortgage, which currently sits at nearly 7 percent. The average reached a peak under President Joe Biden of nearly 8 percent in October 2023 after quickly rising from below 3 percent at the start of 2021.
Housing prices and rents are also facing pressure from a surge in illegal immigration concentrated at the U.S. southern border due to a shortage of between 4 million and 7 million housing units across the country. The foreign-born population has surged by 6.6 million since Biden first took office, with an estimated 58 percent of that being from illegal immigration.
“Regionally, the Northeast remains the top performer with an 8.3 percent annual gain, showcasing robust growth compared to other metro markets,” Luke said in the release. “On a seasonal adjusted basis, national home prices have reached their ninth all-time high within the past year, with all 20 metropolitan markets posting positive annual gains for the fourth consecutive month, indicating widespread and sustained growth in the housing sector.”
The White House did not respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Will Kessler is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Home For Sale” by Kindel Media.
