Key Points:
- Home-price growth accelerated in January as the supply of homes for sale fell to a new low.
- The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 19.2% in the year that ended in January, up from 18.9% in the previous month.
- The 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain, up from 18.6% in the previous month.
- Phoenix reported the highest gains among the 20 cities in September with a 32.6% year-over-year price increase, followed by Tampa with a 30.8% increase and Miami with a 28.1% increase.
- The median existing-home sales price in February rose 15% from a year earlier to $357,300, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this month.
- While the number of home sales fell 7.2% in February over the month and are down 2.4% from a year earlier.
- Total housing inventory at the end of February totaled 870,000 units, up 2.4% from January but down 15.5% from one year ago,
- Unsold inventory sits at a 1.7-month supply, up from the record-low supply in January of 1.6 months and down from 2.0 months in February 2021.
- The proportion of first-time buyers fell to 29% in February, down from 31% a year earlier, according to NAR.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor home prices.