US home prices post weakest gain in more than two years

[BOSTON] US home prices gained the least in over two years, slowing for the seventh straight month in August as buyers gained leverage in negotiations and inventory grew.

A national measure of prices rose 1.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from S&P Cotality Case-Shiller. It was the smallest gain since mid-2023 and followed a 1.6 per cent increase in July.

The easing of price growth is good news for buyers after a prolonged affordability squeeze caused by soaring prices and high mortgage rates. The index measures a three-month period ending in August, when mortgage rates were beginning to drop from near 7 per cent and available listings were growing.

Among 20 cities, New York again led the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index, with a 6.1 per cent annual gain in prices. Following were Chicago and Cleveland with increases of 5.9 and 4.7 per cent, respectively.

Prices in Tampa fell 3.3 per cent, the lowest of the 20 cities measured. Prices in Miami dropped 1.7 per cent.

“Looking ahead, the housing market appears to be finding a new equilibrium after the pandemic boom,” Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said. “With price growth running at half the rate of inflation and several major markets in decline, the rapid appreciation of recent years has clearly ended.” BLOOMBERG