The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 4.8% annual gain in home prices in July, up from a 4.3% annual gain in June. The 10-City Composite rose by 3.3% on an annual basis, up from 2.8% the previous month, while the 20-City Composite posted a 3.9% gain YOY, up from 3.5% the previous month.

(Note that transaction records for Wayne County, Michigan, are not available for July, and so the index is calculated without an index value for Detroit. Records for Wayne County are now available for March, April, May, and June.)

Phoenix, Seattle, and Charlotte, North Carolina, showed the highest year-over-year gains among the 19 cities (excluding Detroit) included in the index. Phoenix posted 9.2% YOY price gains, while Seattle showed 7% price gains YOY and Charlotte showed 6% YOY price gains. Sixteen of the 19 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending July than in the year ending June.

On a month-over-month basis before seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a 0.8% increase, while the 10-City and 20-City composites both showed a 0.6% increase. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the National Index showed a 0.4% increase month over month, while the 10-City Composite showed a 0.5% increase and the 20-City Composite showed a 0.6% increase. Eighteen of the 19 cities reported increases before and after seasonal adjustment.

“In previous months, we’ve noted that a trend of accelerating increases in the National Composite Index began in August 2019. That trend was interrupted in May and June, as price gains decelerated modestly, but now may have resumed. Obviously more data will be required before we can say with confidence that any COVID-related deceleration is behind us,” says Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Phoenix’s 9.2% increase topped the league table for July; this is the 14th consecutive month in which Phoenix home prices rose more than those of any other city. Seattle (7%), Charlotte (6%), and Tampa, Florida, (5.9%) continue to occupy the next three places, but there was some growth even in the worst performing cities, Chicago (0.8%) and New York (1.3%). Prices were particularly strong in the Southeast and West regions, and comparatively weak in the Midwest and Northeast.”