US home prices set new record with seven-month streak of gains
HOME prices in the US reached a new high in August after seven straight months of gains.
A national gauge of prices increased 0.9 per cent in August from July, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. Cities reaching all-time highs include New York, Boston, Miami and Atlanta.
Higher borrowing costs have weighed on potential buyers and limited the number of homes for sale, with owners becoming reluctant to list properties and give up lower interest rates. Tight inventory has helped push up prices.
“The year’s increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed housing demand, but after years of very low rates, it seems to have suppressed supply even more,” Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in the statement on Tuesday (Oct 31).
On a year-over-year basis, prices nationally climbed 2.6 per cent, compared with a 1 per cent gain in July.
Mortgage rates have climbed further since August, with some measures now hovering near 8 per cent for a 30-year, fixed loan.
“Higher mortgage rates and seasonal trends will slow further monthly gains – with some possible declines in winter months,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. BLOOMBERG
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