Cooling home prices continue but there are signs of a shift

Home price growth remains subdued compared to recent years despite some positive signs.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index gained 3.5% in April, the lowest rate since September 2012 and the marking the 13th consecutive month of slowing growth.

“While the slowdown is now in its 13th consecutive month, half of the country’s markets are now seeing an increase in home price appreciation from March to April,” noted Dr. Ralph B. McLaughlin, deputy chief economist and executive of research and insights for CoreLogic. “This suggests the great cooldown of 2018-2019 might be coming to an end. Coupled with mortgage rates falling to 18-month lows, it seems the housing market frost is poised to thaw quickly this summer.”

The slide in average home prices for the top 10 metropolitan areas broke its 12-month cooling with an increase of 2.3%, up from the previous month’s 2.2% increase.

But the top 20 metropolitan areas cooled for the 13th straight month, posting a gain of 2.5% year over year, down from 2.6% in March.