Home Prices Continue to Rise in September

National home prices continued to increase in September. Despite rising mortgage rates, limited inventory and solid, but weakened, demand provided support for home prices. National home prices are now 69% higher than their last peak during the housing boom in March 2006.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 8.1% in September, slightly slower than a 9.8% increase in August. It is the eighth consecutive annual gain since February 2023.

On a year-over-year basis, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 3.9% annual gain in September, following a 2.5% increase in August.

Meanwhile, the Home Price Index, released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.6% in September, following an 8.8% increase in August. On a year-over-year basis, the FHFA Home Price NSA Index rose by 6% in September, up from 5.8% in the previous month.

In addition to tracking national home price changes, S&P CoreLogic reported home price indexes across 20 metro areas in September. All 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation. Their annual growth rates ranged from 1.9% to 18.9%.

Jing Fu, director of forecasting and analysis at NAHB, provides more details on local price increases in this Eye on Housing post.