Topline
Data released by the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller index, a leading measure of U.S. home prices, shows home prices continued to drop across the U.S. through December, with major cities like Seattle and San Francisco among those showing the biggest declines.
Key Facts
On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported home prices have ticked down about 0.8% on a monthly basis, but have fallen harder in 20 of the nation’s largest cities, and S&P’s Craig Lazzara says home prices “may well continue to weaken” given the prospects for ongoing economic weakness.
Top 20 Major Cities With Monthly Home Price Declines
- Phoenix (-1.9%)
- Portland (-1.9%)
- Las Vegas (-1.8%)
- Seattle (-1.8%)
- San Francisco (-1.8%)
- Denver (-1.3%)
- San Diego (-1.3%)
- Minneapolis (-1.2%)
- Chicago (-1.2%)
- Dallas (-1.1%)
- Detroit (-1.1%)
- Charlotte (-1.0%)
- Boston (-0.9%)
- Tampa (-0.9%)
- Cleveland (-0.8%)
- Los Angeles (-0.8%)
- Atlanta (-0.7%)
- Washington (-0.4%)
- Miami (-0.3%)
- New York (-0.2%)
Tangent
In February, the median U.S. home-sale price fell 0.6% year over year, according to a report from real estate brokerage Redfin, marking the first annual drop since 2012 at a time when daily average mortgage rates hit 7.1%, pricing out buyers and forcing sellers to lower their asking prices to adjust to high mortgage rates. Home prices were likely to come down since mortgage rates rose, pushing borrowing costs to 16-year highs and crushing home-buyer demand, according to Redfin.
Contra
The average monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers today is at a record high of $2,520 due in part to high mortgage rates, according to Redfin.