CoreLogic will release its Case-Shiller Index on Tuesday after its prior report [1] found home prices rose 4.7% annually. This is the highest annual gain since December 2018—maintaining the nine consecutive months of steady increases.
The 1.01% month-to-month increase is the most rapid since April 2018, according to the national Case-Shiller Index.
Seemingly overlooking stay-at-home orders and a virtual nationwide freeze in housing markets, the unblemished price growth is a sign of continued homebuyer demand, which is further muscling an additional historical sag in interest rates, the Index found. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest since the spring of 2013. It drooped even lower after April.
In the shadow of the pandemic, the housing market’s also received a significant boost from favorable demographics--particularly millennials reaching the home-buying age.
Meantime, the 10-and 20-city composite indexes also continued to balloon. In April, the 20-city index experienced more rapid growth. Some of the smaller metro areas, where housing demand this year has flashed particular brawn, is covered by that index.
From a geographic standpoint, for the 11th month in a row, with a jump to 8.8% compared to last April, Phoenix, which is included in the 20-city S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes, kept up the highest growth rate in home prices. Seattle, again, was second at 7.3% year over year.
On the other hand, where the 12-month homes continued their spiral, included New York at 2.5% and Chicago, 1.4%. However, compared to the prior month, New York’s rate of growth caught a tail breeze in April.
Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:
U.S. Homeownership Rate (Tuesday)
LL100 Webinar [2] on Foreclosure Process (Wednesday)