US home prices rose at the slowest pace in more than six years in March, a sign weaker sales are keeping a lid on price increases.
The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, reported Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of +3.2% in March, following an increase of +3.1% in February. On a year-over-year basis, the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index rose by +3.7% in March, down from +3.9% in February. It was the lowest annual gain since September 2012. The annual growth rate has decreased for twelve straight months, from +6.5% in March 2018 to +3.7% in March 2019. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index rose a seasonally adjusted +0.1% in March, compared to February, and was +2.7% higher compared to a year ago. That was the slowest pace of annual growth since August 2012.
Meanwhile, the US Home Price Index, released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) also Tuesday, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of +1.3% in March, following the +5.3% increase in February. On a year-over-year basis, the FHFA Home Price NSA Index rose by +5% in March. It was the lowest annual growth rate since January 2015, confirming the slowdown in home price appreciation. Home price appreciation continued to slow in March.
“Buyers have hit a breaking point in what they’re willing to pay, even with low mortgage rates and even in places where incomes are high,” said Matthew Speakman, an economic analyst at real estate data firm Zillow.
