S&P Dow Jones Indices today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for August 2019 shows that the rate of home price increases across the U.S. continues to slow.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 3.2% annual gain in August, up from 3.1% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 1.5%, down from 1.6% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 2.0% year-over-year gain, no change from the previous month.

Phoenix, Charlotte, and Tampa reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. In August, Phoenix led the way with a 6.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by Charlotte with a 4.5% increase and Tampa with a 4.3% increase. Seven of the 20 cities reported greater price increases in the year ending August 2019 versus the year ending July 2019.

MONTH-OVER-MONTH
Before seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 0.2% in August. The 10-City and 20-City Composites did not post any gains for the month. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.3% month-over-month increase in August. The 10-City Composite posted a 0.1% decrease and the 20-City Composite posted a 0.2% decrease. In August, 11 of 20 cities reported increases both before seasonal adjustment while 17 of 20 cities reported increases after seasonal adjustment.

ANALYSIS
“The U.S. National Home Price NSA Index trend remained intact with a year-over-year price change of 3.2%” says Philip Murphy, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “However, a shift in regional leadership may be underway beneath the headline national index.
“Phoenix saw an increase in its YOY price change to 6.3% and retained its leading position. However, Las Vegas dropped from number two to number eight among the cities of the 20-City Composite, falling from a 4.7% YOY change in July to only 3.3% in August. Meanwhile, the Southeast region included three of the top four cities. Charlotte, Tampa, and Atlanta all recorded solid YOY performance with price changes of 4.5%, 4.3%, and 4.0%, respectively. In the Northwest, Seattle’s YOY change turned positive (0.7%) after three consecutive months of negative YOY price changes. The 10-City Composite YOY price change declined slightly from July to 1.5%, while the 20-City Composite YOY price change remained steady at 2.0%. San Francisco was the only city to record a negative YOY price change (-0.1%).”