This story was originally published in Builder.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 6.2 percent annual gain in November 2017, up from 6.1 percent in the previous month.
The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 6.1 percent, up from 5.9 percent the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 6.4 percent year-over-year gain, up from 6.3 percent the previous month.
Seattle led the way with a 12.7 percent year-over-year price increase, followed by Las Vegas with a 10.6 percent increase, and San Francisco with a 9.1 percent increase. Six cities reported greater price increases in the year ending November 2017 versus the year ending October 2017.
Before seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a month-over-month gain of 0.2 percent in November. The 10-City and 20-City Composites reported increases of 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.7 percent month-over-month increase in November. The 10-City and 20-City Composites posted 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent month-over-month increases, respectively. Ten of 20 cities reported increases in November before seasonal adjustment, while all 20 cities reported increases after seasonal adjustment.
“Home prices continue to rise three times faster than the rate of inflation,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Index year-over-year increases have been 5 percent or more for 16 months; the 20-City index has climbed at this pace for 28 months. Given slow population and income growth since the financial crisis, demand is not the primary factor in rising home prices. Construction costs, as measured by National Income and Product Accounts, recovered after the financial crisis, increasing between 2 percent and 4 percent annually, but do not explain all of the home price gains. From 2010 to the latest month of data, the construction of single family homes slowed, with single family home starts averaging 632,000 annually. This is less than the annual rate during the 2007–2009 financial crisis of 698,000, which is far less than the long-term average of slightly more than 1 million annually from 1959 to 2000 and 1.5 million during the 2001–2006 boom years. Without more supply, home prices may continue to substantially outpace inflation.”
“Looking across the 20 cities covered here, those that enjoyed the fastest price increases before the 2007–2009 financial crisis are again among those cities experiencing the largest gains. San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas, price leaders in the boom before the crisis, are again seeing strong price gains. They have been joined by three cities where prices were above average during the financial crisis and continue to rise rapidly—Dallas, Portland OR, and Seattle.”
This story was originally published in Builder.