U.S. home prices continued to lose ground to inflation in August, even as nominal price growth accelerated slightly, according to the latest S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.
The National Index posted a 2.1% annual gain in August, up from 1.9% in July. Consumer prices, meanwhile, increased 3.4% year over year, meaning inflation outpaced home price growth by roughly 1.3 percentage points. It marked the 15th consecutive month that U.S. home values declined in real terms.
The 10-City Composite recorded a 3.6% annual increase, up from 3.4% the previous month, while the 20-City Composite increased 2.7%, compared with 2.5% in July.
“U.S. home prices declined in real terms for the 15th consecutive month in August 2026, though the gap narrowed as nominal home price growth strengthened,” says Rebecca Kaufman, associate director of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Regional differences remained pronounced. Chicago led the 20 markets for the sixth consecutive month, posting a 6.7% year-over-year gain, followed by New York at 6.2% and Cleveland at 4.3%.
At the opposite end, Seattle recorded the largest annual decline for the third consecutive month, falling 2%. Las Vegas prices declined 1.3%, while Denver prices fell 0.8%. The gap between Chicago and Seattle approached 9 percentage points, highlighting the continued geographic divergence in home-price performance.
On a month-over-month basis, prices softened before seasonal adjustment. The U.S. National Index declined 0.2%, while both the 10-City and 20-City composites fell 0.4%.
After seasonal adjustment, however, each index increased. The National Index rose 0.3%, the 10-City Composite increased 0.4%, and the 20-City Composite gained 0.3%.
“The divergence suggests that the typical post-summer slowdown is obscuring some underlying strength in home prices,” Kaufman says.
Despite that strength, affordability remains a significant hurdle for prospective buyers. Kaufman pointed to 3.4% inflation, Brent crude near $100 per barrel, and mortgage rates in the mid-to-high 6% range as factors keeping household costs elevated alongside persistently high home prices.
